Before the 2017-2018 school year begins, the College of Arts and Sciences will be cutting $1 million for budget cuts. There are many factors involved, but the low enrollment of the freshmen class and raising faculty salaries has caused added pressure to the budget. With this news, comes speculation over what programs will experience significant budget cuts or what programs will be cut completely. There are several small majors and minors but the university knows there are more aspects than just small numbers in order to cut a program completely. Before any drastic decisions are made, it may be in the best interest of the university to hold an open forum to get input mainly from students, but also
faculty and staff. Something else to think about is the importance of winter term. Although many people enjoy these two-week courses, Pacific University does not necessarily gain anything from it.
This is mainly because winter term is included in our tuition but the university continues to pay faculty without receiving compensation from students. When the university proposed a fee for winter term it sparked anger from students who felt they should not pay extra if it is technically included in the cost of school. While the anger was understood by many, it is important to see both sides. One idea could be to cut winter term altogether to avoid both of these issues. Another area to be focused on is facilities and renovations. Holding off on renovations that are not critical and urgent would help save money. Also, the college puts on several events and invites speakers to campus but does not receive any money from it.
While some of the events and speakers are important, cutting down on this might be another way to prevent the budget cuts from being so large in the first place. But instead of looking at large areas to cut, it is also beneficial to look at ways to bring in money.
Increasing fundraising for the College of Arts and Sciences in a fun way that invites student and community involvement would be a creative way to increase the amount of money the college brings in. Overall, the College of Arts and Sciences is more expensive because it’s a residential campus with a large undergraduate student body and has a greater amount of student activities and courses than other graduate colleges at Pacific. The three-year budget plan that is being enacted should also help with balancing the budget in the long run. Students are encouraged to reach out to the administration with things they are willing to let go of and other ideas for efficiencies for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Leave a Reply