Joann Groff
News Editor
Seaver Dean David Baird released his official recommendations Monday on how to cut approximately $1 million from Seaver College, with degrees in Advertising, Humanities, International Business, P.E. and Public Relations at risk of deletion or reduction to a minor.
In February, it was announced that $1.6 million of the operating budget would be collected from the college by reviewing the efficiency of the programs on campus. Of that money, $1 million will go to the University for a computer system and a retiree health benefits package, and $600,000 is to be reallocated within Seaver, enriching some of the existing programs and creating new ones.
Dr. Robert Chandler, chair of the Communication division, said the announcements have spurred concern among students and faculty.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty right now,” Chandler said. “I think the biggest danger is rumors, and people overreacting. This is part of life – these things get reviewed … I understand that people are upset. It’s important, and we don’t have all the information right now. I want to be sympathetic and I understand the concern.”
Chandler said many students are calling to change their majors, but he insisted that is not necessary. Students already enrolled in a major may complete the program and receive their degrees. The incoming freshman will be the last to have that opportunity, and the majors and minors proposed for deletion will be eliminated after their graduation.
There will be no public forum or specific appeal process for students to vent their concerns over their degrees, which some argue, will be greatly devalued.
“Mostly I’m just afraid that I’m going to go out into the real world, and go into an interview at a great ad agency, and they are going to say, ‘Oh, you’re from Pepperdine – do they even have an advertising major?’” said senior Jenny Yang, Advertising major. “I know it won’t necessarily be next year – it could be a few years down the road – but the question is still there. Is my diploma going to be worthless?”
Baird acknowledged this fear and stressed that many programs, including Art History, Physics and Sports Medicine, as well as a new Integrated Marketing degree, which will encompass Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, will be enriched to offer students a better alternative to their current major.
“Actually it is a problem (degrees becoming devalued),” Baird said. “I guess I would reemphasize that what we are going to do is not absolutely certain, but what we do do is going to make their training more marketable. We are going to make them better prepared, and we will better equip them and prepare them for the work world – that is the key element.”
Students like Yang say they can see the good and the bad in the changes.
“I guess I’m just worried,” Yang said. “I know there’s valid arguments. Advertising is the type of field where experience is valued higher than what kind of classes you took, so it may not be a big deal. I guess it’s just the uncertainty of it – will it or won’t it? If it was staying like it was, I wouldn’t have these questions.”
Chandler explained the situation using his own education as an example. He majored in Speech in college, a major that is now practically outdated. And despite the fact that some majors have existed for a long time, they have changed over the years, and that is what may happen as some majors are deleted and others are enriched.
“I fully expect us to train people in Public Relations and Advertising,” Chandler said. “In this new age, there is a way to study or organize (majors) better. It doesn’t mean we abandon it. I don’t know what’s going to come out of this, but I know the motive, the goal is to make things better. I think students would applaud that, to ask if they are getting the best for their dollar.”
Despite the lack of an organized opportunity for student response, Baird said any student group with concerns may call him directly, and he will be happy to meet with anyone to discuss the proposed changes. He will also be meeting with SGA to get feedback from students, which was confirmed by Carl Kasalek, SGA president.
“He has talked to us about meeting next week, I think,” Kasalek said. “I think we are handling the future, not the past. I don’t think the conversation is going to be about where the money is coming from, but where new money is going. We want to hear everything from his side, and if we have any disagreements, that’s my opportunity. We just want to work openly with (Baird).”
Baird emphasized that changes only have been recommended, referring to his proposals as something to “stimulate conversion, rather than sealing someone’s doom.”
Before anything is set in stone, an extensive process must take place, as all curriculum changes must be approved by the academic councils of the University.
First, Baird will meet with all divisions over the next two weeks to address concerns. The proposal will then go to the Seaver Academic Council, and after their approval, must be returned to Baird and endorsed by him, again. Finally, the University Academic Council must approve the reductions, which make the curriculum changes final.
Other proposed cuts are the writing center, the debate team, ISAC (Asian Studies) and CHADO (The Way of Tea class), Currents magazine (as a printed publication) and P.E. 199. General education classes like Psychology, Sociology, Speech, English, History, Math and Political Science were placed in a “retained at a lower level of support” category, meaning in most cases, Baird said, that instead of five classes of 30, the class will be taught as a large class of 150 students.
“These are not decisions I’d necessarily like to make,” Baird said. “I need their (faculty) help in utilizing Elkins. There are people that say … we want our kids in small classes. And I agree it would be too bad if a freshman ended up with six large classes, but four or five classes in Elkins during a college career does not seem too bad to me.
“And frankly it’s because it saves me adjunct money,” Baird continued. “Unfortunately some of my colleagues tend to look at that as ‘you have no confidence in me.’ And it’s not that – I want you to do the good job you are doing, just more efficiently.”
Baird said he understands the emotion that is coming out of this, especially from the Communication Division, and that this is a hard time for everyone. But he insisted that this effort is being made to improve the standard, to increase the marketability of students, not to take anything away. In some instances cuts within a division were actually recommended by the division chairs or faculty because of complaints or inadequacies. But despite the goal of bettering the value of a Seaver College education, there have been second thoughts.
“Given all the emotion that’s been poured into it, it may have been a whole lot easier to have hidden behind closed doors and taken the money,” Baird said. “I was counseled in this process and was told the less faculty that knew about it the better. But I’m not made that way.”
08-30-2004