‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Lessrecitations, more crowded classes, elimination of popular courses. This iswhat students at Stony Brook could be facing next year if proposals set forthby the SUNY Board of Trustees, which are included in Governor Pataki’sproposed budget for fiscal year 2003-2004, are passed by the legislature.
Theproposed budget calls for up to a 15 percent cut in the budget of New YorkState universities. In addition, students are facing a tuition increase of$1,200 and cuts to many financial aid programs such as TAP. This is all partof a governmental effort to curtail New York’s large projected budgetdeficit. The State Assembly and Legislature is expected to vote on theseproposals later this spring.
Inaddition to the budget proposals, the state has also mandated that Stony Brookreduce enrollment by 400 for the upcoming academic year.
Theuniversity is already feeling the effects of a budget cut. According toProvost Robert L. McGrath, the university has absorbed cuts equivalent to 7.5percent this year, due to negotiated staff and faculty salary increases, and amidyear, state-mandated budget reduction of 2.5 percent.
‘?Toa large extent, we have not been able to replace faculty who have retired, orresigned, from their positions,’ McGrath said.
To offsetthe effects of the proposed budget cuts, the Provost’s office has madeproposals to the various schools and departments on campus, in order for themto be able to adjust their budgets accordingly for the upcoming academic year.
‘?Wemay need to have smaller freshman courses,’ McGrath said. ‘?Someupper-division courses will be given less frequently and we probably will needto reduce the number of sections in special courses.’.
Dean ofthe College of Arts and Sciences, James Staros, Ph.D., offered a slightly moreoptimistic projection of the proposed cuts. ‘?We are projecting a cut onthe order of 10 to 12 percent,’ he said. ‘?We have been focusingour dollars on making sure courses are available for the students in thefall.’
Accordingto Staros, money has been funneled out of special programs like scholarlyjournals sponsored by CAS, and will be put toward instructional efforts nextyear. Despite that, Staros admitted that there may be a reduction in courseofferings: ‘?The budget cut will mean a modest number of fewer sessions,or larger sessions,’ he said.
Whilesome departments are still working on their budget for next year, many havealready drafted a proposed budget. For most of those departments, a reductionof courses and sections is in order. Peter Manning, English Department chair,said the outlook for next year was grim.
‘?It’sa disaster for [the English Department],’ he said. ‘?We will beoffering fewer courses than we have in a very long time.’
That sentimentwas echoed by other department chairs, who are in the unfortunate position ofhaving to cut popular or specialized courses.
‘?Wehave a very popular pre-law program taught by adjuncts, and those are all gonenext year,’ said Mark Schneider, chair of the Political ScienceDepartment. ‘?We’re going to have to cancel a class that caps outat 103 students. Where are these students going to go?’
Theeffects of the budget cuts will not be limited to the reduction of coursesbeing offered. Many departments will have to reduce staff and the number ofteaching assistant positions available. Judith Lochhead, Ph.D., chair of theMusic Department, projected ‘?fewer TA positions available for graduatestudents, which will reduce the number of recitations.’ Otherdepartments are also planning on reducing the number adjunct professors whowill be teaching courses.
‘?Whatwill be in common in all of the schools is a reduction in the staff and facultythrough attrition. The teaching load for the current faculty willincrease,’ said Norman H. Edelman, Ph.D., Dean of the College of HealthSciences and Vice-President of the University Medical Center.
Budgetcuts also will make the administration of various departments more difficult.
‘?Ourdepartment has 400 majors and a large graduate program. Running that with 14full-time faculty is very difficult,’ Schneider said. We also have anundergraduate secretary whom we’d love to hire as a permanent employee,but can’t. If he leaves, I have no idea how we will clear students forgraduation.’
Despitethe bleak outlook for next year, the administration and faculty remaingenerally optimistic about the quality of education that Stony Brook willoffer. ‘?We are trying to preserve the quality [of academics], by carefuluse of the resources that we have,’ Staros said.
Edelmansaid he felt that the College of Health Sciences would also continue to offer ahigh level of academics, but admitted that its overall academic life would. beaffected in other ways. ‘?Doctors will have to work longer and harder totake care of patients, which will leave them less time for research and theirown academic pursuits.’
Finally,according to McGrath, student fees will not be raised to offset the possibleeffects of a budget cut. ‘?This is not the time to be charging additionalfees,’ he said. ‘?I would like to see TAP put in place for studentswho will need financial assistance and I really hope the State Legislature can comeup with a better package.’
