Academic Challenges & Changes

[luhoopsfan]

From the Prez today fr those who haven't yet seen - anxious to hear what the changes are but to see only 85 students are affected is great, but I feel for those 85....

Dear Alumni,

As you may know, in an effort to promote alignment between programs, resources, and University mission, La Salle University has been engaged in a Strategic Program Prioritization (SPP) process since September 2015. Over 300 programs were analyzed, rated, and ranked by two task forces populated by faculty and staff, assessing the extent to which each program is mission-aligned and financially sustainable. These rankings were used to guide University leadership in making critical decisions that support the intensity of focus needed for La Salle to achieve its most important aspirations and better serve its students.

Yesterday, the La Salle University Board of Trustees voted to adopt the recommendations of University leadership that included moving the University to a platform of institutional learning outcomes, the creation of five interdisciplinary centers of excellence, the introduction of an intense Freshman Academic Seminar, and the creation of a program of endowed chairs and professorships intended to highlight and advance La Salle’s distinctive spires of academic excellence. The approved recommendations included suspending entry into several undergraduate and graduate programs. Six undergraduate and four graduate programs will close. In addition, ten undergraduate minors, nine tracks in continuing master’s programs, and several certificate programs will close. Some programs will be restructured or consolidated, while other majors slated for closure will continue to offer 100- and 200-level courses. The total number of students enrolled in these programs is fewer than 85. No full-time faculty will be laid off.

Importantly, all students (including Fall 2016 freshmen) enrolled in programs that will eventually close will be fully supported in graduating with their intended degree from La Salle. Again, this will not impact any students currently in-stream.

We strongly believe that your degree from La Salle—a university consistently cited for exceptional value by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and many others—will retain its value even if from an academic program that is closing.

As we reposition the University for a successful future in a challenging and ever-changing higher education environment, your continued support in the days ahead is much needed and greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Colleen

Colleen M. Hanycz, Ph.D.
President

[Shout out to my Cousin Bern]

So when are we getting the details of the closures?

[MisterD]

Importantly, all students (including Fall 2016 freshmen) enrolled in programs that will eventually close will be fully supported in graduating with their intended degree from La Salle. Again, this will not impact any students currently in-stream.

This seems like the important paragraph. Supported with what options? Like 6 kids will take classes by themselves to be the final Bachelors of _______ grads from La Salle? That doesn't seem like a great experience or solution. Will there be assisted w/ transferring elsewhere? Or compensation for wasted credits if they want to stay at La Salle but switch majors? TBD?

[durenduren]

Difficult, but healthy. Never ideal, but change was and is needed.

Sept 8, 2016 14:20:07 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Importantly, all students (including Fall 2016 freshmen) enrolled in programs that will eventually close will be fully supported in graduating with their intended degree from La Salle. Again, this will not impact any students currently in-stream.

This seems like the important paragraph. Supported with what options? Like 6 kids will take classes by themselves to be the final Bachelors of _______ grads from La Salle? That doesn't seem like a great experience or solution. Will there be assisted w/ transferring elsewhere? Or compensation for wasted credits if they want to stay at La Salle but switch majors? TBD?

I'm enrolled in a graduate level program somewhere else that was given the death sentence, so I can sympathize. What you outlined is pretty accurate, that class sizes will be limited and the diversity of course offerings will be diminished of the remaining semesters of the program. Students will be restricted to tight tracks to ensure everyone has the opportunity to finish, but it isn't ideal. I'm sure some attrition is expected, though.

Frankly, it's demoralizing & difficult. It makes you question your investment, your hard work, and the time you dedicated to that field. But on the flip side, it was necessary and the damage was minimized.

Greener pastures await.

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2016 14:20:07 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Importantly, all students (including Fall 2016 freshmen) enrolled in programs that will eventually close will be fully supported in graduating with their intended degree from La Salle. Again, this will not impact any students currently in-stream.

This seems like the important paragraph. Supported with what options? Like 6 kids will take classes by themselves to be the final Bachelors of _______ grads from La Salle? That doesn't seem like a great experience or solution. Will there be assisted w/ transferring elsewhere? Or compensation for wasted credits if they want to stay at La Salle but switch majors? TBD?

It would seem that most of the closings will be phased in so that people who are 85% complete a major can still get credit instead of waking up one day without a program. As for courses with 6 people in them, this may have been already happening in some cases? We don't know.

In the competitive landscape it was common for colleges to add areas of study but I'm glad to hear the streamlined approach means La Salle will dedicate its resources to what it's doing best.

[luhoopsfan]

There were no options that wouldn't hurt people I'm sure. Like the layoffs last year I can't imagine how hard it was and it is to come to grips with this as a student and how difficult it was to be the person making the decisions- the alternative would be to change nothing and pose a greater risk to the university overall.


There is an announcement later this month apparently that is "positive" so I guess we will see if this is related or not.

[blueandgold]

A few items worth mentioning:

- Creation of online classes will be pushed heavily across the board regardless of any resistance. (I do not see a way to avoid this and survive - makes sense to me.)

- Required core will be stripped down significantly.

- Day One and FYO = gone and replaced with a new program that will start Tuesday before classes. (Not sure if the Freshman Academic Seminar mentioned is the same thing.)

- Career Services will be totally revamped.

[theneumann64]

The e-mail I got this morning listed 6 Undergraduate Majors being eliminated:
French, German, Italian, Russian, Geology, and Public Administration.


So 4 of the 6 are Foreign Languages, and they specifically mentioned the 100 and 200 level courses will be retained.

[MisterD]

Sept 9, 2016 6:12:45 GMT -5 luhoopsfan said:

There were no options that wouldn't hurt people I'm sure. Like the layoffs last year I can't imagine how hard it was and it is to come to grips with this as a student and how difficult it was to be the person making the decisions- the alternative would be to change nothing and pose a greater risk to the university overall.

Oh, absolutely, and I hope my post didn't imply I think the closures are a bad idea. But its kinda like when a company has necessary layoffs; you get why its happening but you hope it happens the right way.

[durenduren]

Here's the full list. Some of this is isn't horribly shocking now that the list is public, and makes clear that during a time when universities are forced to run leaner and leaner, we were directing valuable resources to small, specialized areas that likely resulted in little return for the university.

Undergraduate Programs to Close

• B.S. in Geology
• B.A. in French
• B.A. in German
• B.A. in Italian
• B.A. in Public Administration
• B.A. in Russian

Minors to Close

• Asian Studies
• Catholic Studies
• Central and Eastern European Studies
• Classics
• Film Studies
• Forensic Science
• International Studies
• Japanese
• Life Science
• Women's Studies


Graduate Programs/Concentrations and Certificates to Close

• M.A. in Central/Eastern European Studies and Certificate in Security Studies
• M.A. in Theology and Liturgy (all concentrations)
• M.A. in English (English for Educators)
• M.A. in English (Literature and Cultural Studies)
• Doctor of Theology (all concentrations)
• English as a Second Language State Certificate Program
• MSN (Nursing Administration, Public Health and Clinical Nurse Leader Tracks)
• Certificate in Nursing Education
• M.A. in Education (American Studies, English, History, Classroom Management)
• M.A. in Education, Advanced Certification and PA Department of Education Advanced Certification (Reading Specialist)
• Master of Business Administration (Basel, Switzerland)

[MisterD]

Oooo, I spy the one that's going to cause the firestorm.

[durenduren]

Sept 9, 2016 10:07:49 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Oooo, I spy the one that's going to cause the firestorm.

*gulp*

missed that the first time around, but yeah...

[gymratlsc72]

durenduren, you forgot the all important footnotes (which appear to indicate, in some cases, program overhaul/revisions and not complete elimination):

Undergraduate Programs to Close
B.S. in Geology 1
B.A. in French 2
B.A. in German 2
B.A. in Italian 2
B.A. in Public Administration
B.A. in Russian 2

Minors to Close
Asian Studies
Catholic Studies
Central and Eastern European Studies
Classics
Film Studies
Forensic Science 3
International Studies
Japanese
Life Science
Women's Studies

Graduate Programs/Concentrations and Certificates to Close
M.A. in Central/Eastern European Studies and Certificate in Security Studies
M.A. in Theology and Liturgy (all concentrations) 4
M.A. in English (English for Educators)
M.A. in English (Literature and Cultural Studies)
Doctor of Theology (all concentrations)
English as a Second Language State Certificate Program 5
MSN (Nursing Administration, Public Health and Clinical Nurse Leader Tracks) 6
Certificate in Nursing Education
M.A. in Education (American Studies, English, History, Classroom Management)
M.A. in Education, Advanced Certification and PA Department of Education Advanced Certification (Reading Specialist)
Master of Business Administration (Basel, Switzerland)

Footnotes:
1 Recommendation is to revise the Environmental Science major with a set of common foundational courses to support two concentrations: (a) Biology and (b) Geology. The Environmental Science program will move to the Department of Biology. It is further recommended that a B.A. in Environmental Policy and Sustainability be developed in the Department of Political Science.

2 100- and 200- level courses will be retained.

3 It is recommended that one (1) course continued to be offered in Forensic Science.

4 It is recommended that the four current tracks in the M.A. in Theology and Liturgy be discontinued and replaced by a newly developed M.A. in Theology.

5 The Department of Education and the Hispanic Institute in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will collaborate in the redevelopment of the M.A. and advanced certification in English as a Second Language (ESL).

6 It is recommended that two tracks, Nursing Administration and Public Health be combined into a single track in Public Health Leadership. It is recommended that the Clinical Nurse Leader Track be converted into a second degree program, RN to MSN program, or ADN to MSN program.

[gymratlsc72]

I point out the footnotes in my prior post to indicate the belief that, in some cases, the market need is still expected to be there, but the program needs either to be run in a more focused manner AND/OR that it needs to be re-focused in a more targeted way to meet the identified market need more directly.

I believe/hope these represent a more nuanced approach than simply a YES/NO vote for each program.

[coqui900]

I have a M.A. in Central and Eastern European Studies. That sounds like a sorta odd program. I will freely admit that it was.

I enrolled in it because I like writing and reading about international studies. The program just started and I was accepted without any problem (since I'm assuming they needed numbers and no program in the world should have accepted me based on my undergrad grades). I was living in Boston and really wanted to come back to Philly (along with my now wife) and that was the convincing factor.

The chair of the program and Foreign Languages was Dr. Bernie Blumenthal, who was one of the nicest men and best professors I've ever met (which I think is sort of the point of La Salle). Dr. Rudnytsky is/was one of those old La Salle legends, too, and he was the 1B to Bernie's 1A.

Since it was new, I had pretty much full control over what I wanted to study and write about. It very much changed the course and direction of my life. I went from thinking I was going to spend my career toiling at crappy small newspapers while hoping I could get lucky and end up at the Inquirer (good luck with the state of that industry). Instead, I ended up with a great foundation in international relations and economics. I had both Dr. Richard Mshomba and Mr. John Grady, before he passed. They're also two great La Salle people.

I had a paper on German soccer published in an academic journal. My thesis (in 2006 or so) was on how Russia wanted to place Ukraine back under its control and was a looming threat to the Baltic states, with a big focus on the Russian energy industry. I assume the Obama administration didn't get a copy.

My academic background led to one thing to another. I ended up spending a few years at a very accomplished trade journal covering oil markets. I switched (commuting from Philly-to-NYC isn't a long-term thing) back to working here. And now I'm back at La Salle, getting my MBA since I'm thinking of changing to a new field.

Dr. Blumenthal passed away a few years ago. There were a whole bunch of people from the program at his on-campus service. We all really agreed that the program was great and wonderful and awesome. He kept the Foreign Languages department afloat. No way would they have cut German with him at the helm.

But alas, numbers are numbers. I get it. It's sad, but it's a fact of the college industry. I'm lucky to have been a part of it.

[charmcityexplorer]

And now An Affordable Path For All. A wonderful concept that is genuinely Lasallian.