A de-registration debacle

This autumn, a number of Keene State College Students planning to waltz into a specialized class they registered for during the Spring 2010 semester are in for a surprise: the desks will be empty with no professor in sight.

Following the announcement of Governor Lynch and the New Hampshire legislature working to cut $200 million from the states budget, determining the funds for KSC’s Fall 2010 semester is up in the air. In response, an e-mail sent out by the college’s president, Helen Giles-Gee, alerted students that some currently low-enrolled classes will be considered for cutting. The reduction would be in an effort to save the school money it could possibly be in short supply of by August.

KSC is using the excuse of hectic registration to eliminate the courses arguably more enticing to take. The cut off point for a number of students currently enlisted stands at six; anything below that will go through a review board. The outcome of what will be cut plans to be announced in June, but still, a lot can happen in three months.  How attending summer sessions affected students can factor into the adjustment period at the beginning of the semester.

A specialized course provides an opportunity for students to focus their passions more thoroughly. It would be a shame to deny a film student study on a specific genre or technique in their craft or an english major the chance to learn more about a topic they gravitate towards outside of degree requirements. KSC could try to cross-list these lower attended courses with similar majors to fill seats and perhaps stimulate interest in students within that subject of learning.

Adjunct professors are arguably going to be negatively affected more than anybody. Not only will they be less fulfilled from teaching a smaller amount of students but certain specialized courses require a certain type of professor, one that could be out of a job if their area of expertise is no longer offered. Upper classmen, it has also been considered, may receive alterations in their electives, too. Juniors and seniors have the added stress of making sure they complete coursework on time and covering all the bases in their respective majors to graduate. Directing an elective mix-up towards the one aggregation of students in need of options the most is ridiculous.

Punishing the very foundation of what a college is, a place of learning, contradicts the goals of such an institution. Halt financing towards a sector of KSC not involved in education, such as the newly allotted $300 added to student fees towards a new Expo Center. Remind attendees of KSC why they enrolled in the first place: to get an enriched, unique and varied academic experience.