Adjunct classes cut due to lack of incoming revenue
At the end of the 2013-14 academic year, a decision was made in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) to cancel certain courses within the art department. More specifically, the decision was made to limit the number of adjunct course sections taught in the department.
According to Paul Aspan, Ph.D., associate provost, there are currently 18 adjunct courses being run this semester and in fall of 2014, 12 adjunct courses were run, which are both less than the 24 adjunct courses that were active in the spring of 2014.
Dennis McNally, S.J., chair of the art department, expressed that both the department and its students are feeling the effects of the cut. According to McNally, during registration there was a waitlist of approximately 400 students attempting to get into an art course. Classes taught within the art department are considered to fulfill the variable Art/Lit requirement of the General Education Program (GEP), and therefore, as McNally stressed, it is often the case that students need these courses to graduate.
McNally explained that when the issue of students’ need for art courses was brought up in discussion, the response was that the requirement can be satisfied by courses other than studio art classes.
“The explanation was given that we’re not a signature core department and that the students can graduate without any art courses. They can take music or English or Mandarin…so they don’t really need art,” said McNally. “Well, that felt really like a devaluation of the arts.”
Aspan confirmed McNally’s statement by saying that although the CAS is running fewer art courses, students are still able to fill their GEP requirement elsewhere. “Someone can fulfill their GEP by taking art courses or by taking literature courses…or they can take music, theatre, and film courses…so while there is a list of 400 students who couldn’t get into art courses, that’s not to say that 400 students couldn’t fulfill their GEP,” Aspan said.
Aspan said that it comes down to a budgeting and revenue decision when deciding the number of art courses cut. He explained that although art is a popular elective for many students at Saint Joseph’s University, running more adjunct courses would not bring in any more revenue for the university.
“If we ran 20 more art courses and filled them to capacity, it wouldn’t generate a nickel more of revenue, because all the students are already here, so we’re paying for more adjuncts without generating more revenue,” Aspan said.
Joseph Giuffre, adjunct professor in department of art history, had a different take on the situation. Giuffre said that from his perspective, it seemed as if the decision to cut adjunct courses was not considered impactful. According to Giuffre the view is that, “There’s an adjunct salary we could get rid of and we’re only eliminating 10 or 15 [student] spots… [but] you can’t just sort of count seats in classrooms—there are other factors involved.”
Aspan pointed out that the art department is in line with the central mission of the university as a liberal arts institution and therefore it is very much needed at St. Joe’s, but until more revenue can be generated, running more art courses is simply ineffective.
“At the end of the day, we’re faced with a question concerning the common good,” Aspan said. “We have a fixed amount of revenue and what we have to do is be the best stewards of that revenue so that we can provide our students with all of the educational opportunities and services that they need. So until running more adjunct sections for the variable core generates more revenue, there’s no reason to do it because the mission is [still] being served.”