Spring Break
Budget cuts limit SPIA class sizes
MIMI ENSLEY
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: News
Walk into class late, and you may be sitting on the steps between seats.
In large School of Public and International Affairs classes, some students work without desks, said Chris Chiego, one of two Student Government Association senators for SPIA.
He said he knows students who have begged professors for access to an already overflowing lecture.
And recent budget issues have not helped the situation, Chiego said in a phone interview last week.
Dean of SPIA Thomas Lauth said budget cuts and hiring freezes will only increase the competition for an already limited number of seats within the school.
"We will do our best to accommodate all of our students," Lauth said in a phone interview last week. "But the reality is that with the budget reduction and some loss of faculty, students will have to learn to be a little more patient with their expectations about getting classes."
In a school with more than 1,000 students signing up for advisement appointments each semester, classes fill up quickly and scheduling can be difficult.
"I think it's kind of ridiculous," said Tim Tomai, a junior from Staten Island, N.Y. "SPIA is one of the fastest growing schools, and it's kind of being pushed to the wayside."
Chiego said he has been working with University administrators to give "high demand" status to the two majors within SPIA - meaning students would have to meet a rigorous set of requirements to declare one of the majors within the school.
There are no requirements or tests for declaring a political science or international affairs major.
Instead, students must obtain "Permission of Department" to register for SPIA courses. PODs are distributed at a student's advisement appointment, Paul Welch, director of undergraduate student services in SPIA, wrote in an e-mail last week.
Students with more credit hours are given a higher POD priority. If students fall into the same credit hour category, those who get the earlier advisement appointments can claim the first PODs, Welch wrote.
"We're trying to come up with some method for regulating [enrollment numbers] without being exclusive," said Charles Ford, who will be one of the SGA SPIA senators in the fall.
And the senators may be closer to their goal than they realize - thanks to the decline in SPIA faculty.
"If demand continues at its present rate and it takes longer than expected to rebuild the faculty, we might revisit that notion of becoming a high demand major," Lauth said. "It's the only way to do it unless they give teachers more money and offer more classes."
In large School of Public and International Affairs classes, some students work without desks, said Chris Chiego, one of two Student Government Association senators for SPIA.
He said he knows students who have begged professors for access to an already overflowing lecture.
And recent budget issues have not helped the situation, Chiego said in a phone interview last week.
Dean of SPIA Thomas Lauth said budget cuts and hiring freezes will only increase the competition for an already limited number of seats within the school.
"We will do our best to accommodate all of our students," Lauth said in a phone interview last week. "But the reality is that with the budget reduction and some loss of faculty, students will have to learn to be a little more patient with their expectations about getting classes."
In a school with more than 1,000 students signing up for advisement appointments each semester, classes fill up quickly and scheduling can be difficult.
"I think it's kind of ridiculous," said Tim Tomai, a junior from Staten Island, N.Y. "SPIA is one of the fastest growing schools, and it's kind of being pushed to the wayside."
Chiego said he has been working with University administrators to give "high demand" status to the two majors within SPIA - meaning students would have to meet a rigorous set of requirements to declare one of the majors within the school.
There are no requirements or tests for declaring a political science or international affairs major.
Instead, students must obtain "Permission of Department" to register for SPIA courses. PODs are distributed at a student's advisement appointment, Paul Welch, director of undergraduate student services in SPIA, wrote in an e-mail last week.
Students with more credit hours are given a higher POD priority. If students fall into the same credit hour category, those who get the earlier advisement appointments can claim the first PODs, Welch wrote.
"We're trying to come up with some method for regulating [enrollment numbers] without being exclusive," said Charles Ford, who will be one of the SGA SPIA senators in the fall.
And the senators may be closer to their goal than they realize - thanks to the decline in SPIA faculty.
"If demand continues at its present rate and it takes longer than expected to rebuild the faculty, we might revisit that notion of becoming a high demand major," Lauth said. "It's the only way to do it unless they give teachers more money and offer more classes."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Chris C.
posted 4/30/09 @ 8:44 AM EST
A clarification: I said the students without desks incident happened in one class and that eventually the problem went away after students started dropping the class during the semester (which is another issue entirely). (Continued…)
Paul Welch
posted 4/30/09 @ 10:32 AM EST
Mimi, thanks for your article. And Chris, for your update.
I think Mimi you've captured what's going on save for the title of the article. We haven't decreased class sizes for any POLS or INTL courses. (Continued…)
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