Students enter and exit the Durham Language and Literature Building on the Tempe campus on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. The building houses the School of International Letters and Cultures, which may be forced by state funding cuts to discontinue some of its language classes and programs. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)After the Arizona Legislature signed into effect a budget that would significantly cut university funding, some students are in sticky situation with their classes for next semester.
In anticipation of the cut, students in some programs were notified that some classes and programs would no longer be funded and would not be offered in the upcoming semesters.
In an email to students studying Hindi for their language requirement, Robert Joe Cutter, director of the School of International Letters and Cultures, said the school may not be able to offer higher levels of the language to students who had partially completed their program.
“We don’t have much to cut this time,” Cutter said in the email. “It is very likely that we will not be able to offer some classes needed by students.”
Cutter said the department would do its best to accommodate students in the programs, but said the department, which had experienced budget cuts since 2008, was preparing for significant cuts and did not expect to be able to offer all desired classes.
“We don’t want to strand students if we can avoid it,” Cutter said. “I will ask that second-year (Hindi) be listed for the fall, and we will try to offer it. But I’m afraid we will not be able to offer any other levels of the language in the fall.”
As of March 18, there was no listing for Hindi classes being offered in the fall 2015 semester.
Patrick Kenney, vice provost and dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, said in a statement they are still unsure about how the budget cuts will affect programs offered.
“No budget cuts or class changes resulting from the reduction in state funding have been determined," he said. "Dr. Cutter, like many faculty, is concerned about the possible effects of those reductions. But in an email sent nearly two weeks before the state budget was even passed, he was offering a personal and speculative assessment and was not expressing an official university determination about funding. The university is still trying to determine the full implications of the reductions in state investment.”
Students and administrators have taken to social media, the Internet and political involvement to protest the governor’s budget, which reduces funding to all three public universities by $99 million. Funding to community colleges in Maricopa and Pima counties was also cut with the budget passage.
Tempe Undergraduate Student Government President Cassidy Possehl spoke to the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives appropriations committees in the days before the budget was passed, outlining why she and other members opposed the cuts and how they would affect students.
In her speech to the house committee, Possehl told the committee the then-proposed budget deviated from the state constitution, which states “higher education shall be nearly as free as possible.”
“Students in this state are this state’s future,” Possehl said to the committee. “(They are) the future entrepreneurs, educators, scientists. A vote in the affirmative to this version of the budget tells each and every single one of them that their future and the future of this state is a low priority.”
Possehl also told the committee she had heard from students who planned to move out of Arizona after graduation because of the then-proposed budget and its effects on students who are planning to graduate.
“Students should continue to reach out to USG representatives if they have concerns about particular programs or tuition,” Possehl said to The State Press. “The Council of Presidents will prepare a statement before the Arizona Board of Regents hearing in April representing ASU students and our interest to maintain the standard of our education while continuing to keep it affordable.”
Since the budget passage, Possehl said she is continuing to advocate for students in meetings with University administration as leaders decide exactly how the financial cuts will affect programs and students.
She said she has not heard any definite conclusions about programs or classes being cut, but encouraged students to reach out to her with issues regarding the cuts, and said she would continue to represent their interests.
“I will be in constant communication with the offices that make these difficult decisions and will make sure that the proper representation and support is offered to each student,” she said.
University President Michael Crow publicly denounced the budget in a statement after the budget was passed.
“This budget cut is being implemented without input from the state’s higher education leaders and it reverses the progress made in recent years to move our colleges and universities to a performance-based funding model,” Crow said in the prepared statement.
Crow said it is impossible to know the true effects of the budget immediately, because he said it would take years to know how the cuts affect students and their performance in school.
“Over the coming days, we will assess the full impact on ASU and develop a plan to minimize the effects on our campuses while continuing to advance ASU as an institution dedicated to access for all qualified students, excellence in teaching and research, and progress for Arizona,” Crow said.
Reach the reporter at cvanek@asu.edu or follow @CorinaVanek on Twitter.
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