The University of Alberta (U of A) has suspended admissions for 20 low-enrolment arts programs for the 2013-14 year due to budget cuts, the school announced.
Dean of Arts Lesley Cormack sent a memo Aug. 16 to department heads listing the programs that were to close admissions. The memo states these programs were chosen “because they have had 10 or fewer students enrolled as majors” in every fall term from 2005 to 2012.
The programs included 13 language and culture-based subjects ranging from Middle Eastern and African studies to Ukrainian folklore, according to the memo. The remaining seven programs were in the bachelor of design, music, and technical theatre.
“Programs should not continue to be offered simply because they have been offered in the past,” the memo stated.
Staff and students were given until Sept. 3 to send in feedback on the proposed suspensions, according to the memo.
University of Alberta Students’ Union vice-president (academic) Dustin Chelen said he received numerous letters from concerned arts students as a result of the university’s decision.
“I think that in an evermore global world, the demand for programs that introduce students to different cultures and languages will only increase in the future,” Chelen said.
In another memo sent to members of the arts faculty Aug. 27, U of A vice-dean of arts Heather Zwicker announced that the faculty received instruction to cut $5 million from its budget this academic year.
Chelen said he doubted the university will see any immediate results.
“They don’t have specific plans to lay off professors or cut course loads so I don’t see how it will result in budget savings in the short term,” Chelen said. “My understanding is that it isn’t being done as primarily a budget matter that it’s more about the university wanting to close lower enrolling, highly specialized programs.”
Alexander Beecroft, a U of A bachelor of arts graduate who now works as a professor of classics and comparative literature at the University of South Carolina, created an online petition in response to the budget cuts urging the university to reconsider.
“Proponents of these cuts have suggested that universities today cannot afford to do everything well, but the reality is that humanities fields are closely interlinked, both in terms of scholarship and of teaching, and so cuts in one discipline affect all disciplines,” Beecroft wrote.
The petition has received over 1,000 signatures.
