AUDIO TRANSCRIPT: Syracuse Plans to Cut 9 Humanities-Based Majors to Remain Financially Stable
Louis Leibowitz: After months of academic review, Syracuse University is cutting nine majors from its curriculum to remain financially stable. Some majors getting cut have reported as low as 20 students in them as of last school year. Co-chair of the Academic Affairs Committee Matthew Huber saw the change as a very spontaneous one.
Matthew Huber: “It was a very ominous kind of an announcement like, you know, and we’re going to basically like, it seemed pretty intent on cutting things.”
Louis Leibowitz: Essential knowledge could be lost. Zaram Malik, a Middle Eastern studies minor, feels that losing this major cuts out different viewpoints students can learn about the Middle East.
Zaara Malik: I think it’s so essential to be educated on just the basics of how the Middle East is set up politically. It’s essential to keep an open mind, and it’s an essential to understand other perspectives.
Louis Leibowitz: With changes coming to the university’s curriculum, several majors will now have to find new ways to help students learn information that could be lost. Louis Liebowitz, reporting live in studio, for NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) —After many months of academic review, Syracuse University announced that it will be cutting nine majors from its academic curriculum. This move comes as Syracuse University tries to maintain financial stability,
Syracuse University Provost Lois Agnew said the university used this academic review to try and see if programs with low enrollment could still run smoothly. At this time last year, these majors averaged only 20 students in them, respectively. Co-Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee Matthew Huber said the announcement came as a spontenous one for many.
“It was a very ominous kind of an announcement. It seemed pretty intent on cutting things.” said Huber.
Another intriguing aspect about these programs is the intimate feel the small size provided. Huber feels that the direct connection students in these programs had with professors and other resources is something that attracts applicants to Syracuse.
“That’s why they love Syracuse University,” said Huber. “It gives them a diverse offering of different types of programs, some big, some small, so you do have to balance that.”
One major that is affected by these cuts is the Middle Eastern studies program. This program began as a minor in 2003, before becoming a major for students in 2008. Zaara Malik, who is minoring in middle eastern studies, feels sad to see this program go because of the potential she felt it had.
“There’s some really talented professors in there, so it’s just really such a shame because there’s so much potential and so much access to such amazing perspectives,” said Malik.
Amid an ongoing war in Iran, cutting out this major could axe a path that students could learn about a conflict that spans many years and political sides. Despite this major getting cut, Malik wants students to find new ways to gain multiple perspectives on this situation.
“I think it’s so essential to be educated on just the basics of how the Middle East is set up politically,” said Malik. “It’s essential to keep an open mind, and it’s an essential to understand other perspectives.”
Huber feels that when majors are closed off to students, it blocks off ways for students to access new information to learn about.
“When you close a program in a major, you kind of close a portal where students would just see, obviously, if I want to learn about this, this is where I go,” said Huber.
With programs closing, it will become more imperative for students to find new creative ways to access information that will not be accessible in the classroom anymore.