2008 Woodie Awards
Budget gap may require faculty, operating cuts
Issue date: 4/8/05 Section: Opinion
Except for graduating seniors, the arrival of spring means it's time to schedule classes for the upcoming fall semester. This can be a stressful time, as classes seem to fill quickly, leaving some students with few or no options.
Now imagine if faculty cuts were made and fewer professors were available to teach those classes. Classes filling too quickly is already a problem, and these added cuts could leave students scrambling to find courses to fill their schedules.
This could be the case next year as President Robert Smith said the university's budget may have a $4 million gap. Cuts in faculty positions and operating costs could be made to make up the difference.
Up to 27 jobs could be eliminated next year and if the problem is not remedied an additional 31 jobs could be lost the following year.
A tuition freeze has been proposed, which probably sounds good to students initially. After all, what student wants tuition to rise?
Money is not something most college students have a lot of, and many students spend years paying off loans.
However, in the long run a tuition freeze actually hurts students. The quality of education goes down as class sizes go up. If faculty positions are lost that is exactly what will happen.
Not only will scheduling be more difficult, but when you finally do get into that public speaking class you need to graduate, you'll be with 60 other students.
We at The Rocket propose that tuition be increased to make up for the budget gap.
Many students come to Slippery Rock because it's not an institution like Penn State University, where class sizes are astronomical. When students can get one-on-one attention from their professors and establish a professional relationship, they are more likely to succeed.
The operating budget could also be cut 10-15 percent to make up for the budget gap. While operating costs is a vast term, any cuts in the budget are generally not good for the university because it means programs will be cut or receive less funding.
Even a slight tuition increase could help remedy this problem. Obviously tuition alone cannot be responsible for making up the $4 million gap.
However, if each student paid just a little more the quality of his or her education would be ensured. Your education is an investment, so you might as well get as much out of it as possible.
Now imagine if faculty cuts were made and fewer professors were available to teach those classes. Classes filling too quickly is already a problem, and these added cuts could leave students scrambling to find courses to fill their schedules.
This could be the case next year as President Robert Smith said the university's budget may have a $4 million gap. Cuts in faculty positions and operating costs could be made to make up the difference.
Up to 27 jobs could be eliminated next year and if the problem is not remedied an additional 31 jobs could be lost the following year.
A tuition freeze has been proposed, which probably sounds good to students initially. After all, what student wants tuition to rise?
Money is not something most college students have a lot of, and many students spend years paying off loans.
However, in the long run a tuition freeze actually hurts students. The quality of education goes down as class sizes go up. If faculty positions are lost that is exactly what will happen.
Not only will scheduling be more difficult, but when you finally do get into that public speaking class you need to graduate, you'll be with 60 other students.
We at The Rocket propose that tuition be increased to make up for the budget gap.
Many students come to Slippery Rock because it's not an institution like Penn State University, where class sizes are astronomical. When students can get one-on-one attention from their professors and establish a professional relationship, they are more likely to succeed.
The operating budget could also be cut 10-15 percent to make up for the budget gap. While operating costs is a vast term, any cuts in the budget are generally not good for the university because it means programs will be cut or receive less funding.
Even a slight tuition increase could help remedy this problem. Obviously tuition alone cannot be responsible for making up the $4 million gap.
However, if each student paid just a little more the quality of his or her education would be ensured. Your education is an investment, so you might as well get as much out of it as possible.
