New and returning students will encounter noticeable academic changes at a campus currently undergoing a large-scale budget transformation.
Students should expect slightly fewer course offerings, bigger average class sizes and fewer temporary faculty teaching undergraduate courses this year.
Leaders on all administrative levels are currently assessing departments and specialized programs to determine budgetary priorities, as well as discussing possible future changes to degrees and major requirements.
But some aspects of the educational experience will stay the same as last fall quarter, such as the Freshman Clusters and Fiat Lux freshman seminars.
In addition, early campus projections estimate that the average discussion section sizes will not significantly increase from last year.
Julie Sina, chief of staff for the UCLA College, said the university faces immense resource and funding challenges, making the college’s objective to protect teaching and class offerings harder to fulfill.
“I think the chancellor and others have been quoted often saying that (UCLA) is going to be a different place,” Sina said. “We just don’t know quite what that means yet.”
So far the campus is offering about 71 fewer courses this fall, but early estimates show a five percent increase in average class sizes, said Robert Cox, manager of the UCLA Office of Analysis and Information Management. Such an increase equals to about two and a half additional students per primary class.
“Some courses might go away,” Cox said. “A more likely thing is that the frequency of offerings will drop.”
Current resource challenges
Looking at a long-term budget shortfall of approximately $100 million, the university already allocated a majority of bridge funding during last spring’s budget planning process.
Bridge funding coming from the Chancellor’s Office helps many programs stay afloat, keep classes at reasonable sizes and maintain faculty in the classrooms.
But several school officials emphasized that such funding is temporary money, and concerns across the campus mostly revolve around the future of students’ education experience after this school year.
For now, many returning students can expect minor changes to their general learning environments.
Despite its lower number of course offerings, Cox said the campus will achieve or exceed the number of seats offered in fall quarter undergraduate courses than last year.
Generally, smaller classes will remain small as a matter of policy while other class sizes may experience even a greater increase than the average.
The latest projections for secondary section offerings, often discussions or labs, show only a slight drop, and an average section may only see one less seat offered this quarter.
More definite census data for fall quarter course sizes, seats and general numbers will appear in late October.
Reem Hanna-Harwell, assistant dean of humanities and acting assistant dean of social sciences, said that some areas have increased class sizes but not significantly, adding that her divisions have adjusted instructor workload accordingly.
“We’re trying to find other ways to offer the same amount of seats without suddenly doubling a class,” Hanna-Harwell said.
Planning beyond fall quarter
Campus leaders like Cox and Penny Hein-Unruh, assistant vice provost for Academic Counseling, said students should plan out their annual schedules, be flexible and pay attention at course offerings because several classes may be offered less frequently.
For the upcoming year, students should also be aware of more possible budget setbacks when it comes to faculty and staff.
UCLA is participating in a UC-wide furlough program, which requires faculty and staff members, including those students interact with, to take mandatory days off; salaries are reduced accordingly
Robin Garrell, chair of the UCLA Academic Senate, said affected staff members include those working in Murphy Hall such as academic counselors and student affairs officers who help students plan schedules or get permission to enroll in courses.
“Scheduling those furloughs are done in a way that minimizes disruption the best that we can,” Garrell said.
Faculty members are scheduled to take furlough days but not on instructional days, so students will feel the impact of furloughs to a lesser extent because office hours and access would not be affected.
The senate chair also pointed out that the university will not have the capacity or funding to keep many temporary faculty, lecturers or visiting faculty, and courses will fall onto the ladder faculty to teach.
“We know that it won’t be an instant recovery,” Garrell said. “Over time our faculty will get smaller, and in certain areas, there will be some rebalancing.”
She added that students should expect to see longer lines and longer wait times to see counselors in the future.
Judith Smith, dean and vice provost of the undergraduate education division, said her staff is looking at different ways to deliver greater electronic and group counseling to replace that which was done on an individual basis.
“So when money for academic counseling decreases, we need to ask, “˜How are we going to provide counseling for students in an effective way?'” Smith said.
Ongoing assessment
While many students and teachers will try to adjust to immediate changes, ongoing talks will eventually culminate in tentative future budget proposals in the spring after a governance review process.
Earlier this year divisions and departments were charged with creating task forces to discuss and assess changes to their respective majors and educational services for implementation as early as the next school year.
Hanna-Harwell said the biggest problem departments face is deciding where to cut from when facing a shrinking budget and the same number of enrolled students.
She said all departments are looking at their majors and trying to identify the core courses that are required for the major. The College recommends that programs follow Challenge 45, a reduction of upper-division major requirements to 45 units that a majority of departments have already met.
“In some cases, the requirements may have been a bit too cumbersome,” Hanna-Harwell said. “If we can streamline down those units that are required, that will certainly help in the long run.”
Garrell said that cutting back courses in certain areas could mean that the university will have less need for teaching assistants, which can prove problematic.
“We need to preserve our capacity to do our scholarship and still engage graduate students,” Garrell said.
But she said long-term changes like streamlining majors may provide more choices and flexibility for students and will not delay their graduation dates. For example, reducing units for a major could potentially give room to complete a minor.
Kenn Heller, associate director of UCLA’s Center for Student Programming, said he has concerns about the future quality of education at UCLA.
Heller said decisions will probably not come immediately because a conflict exists over choosing core courses or non-core classes.
“How will we choose what courses we do have to teach versus what are really elective-based but add the color?” asked Heller, also the assistant dean of students.
University officials said that tentative plans, such as reanalyzing major and prerequisite courses and putting greater emphasis on summer course offerings, are still up in the air.
“All the departments will continue to engage in assessment; all these things will continue to evolve as we learn more,” Sina said.
Student input
Though next year’s budget forecast may appear murky, administrators such as Sina and Smith quickly pointed out that decisions to disassemble or consolidate majors, departments and divisions have not become fiscal realities.
“That worst-case scenario has not come up yet in terms of the conversations that are going on,” Sina said.
She added that students should actively engage in the discussions taking place on the department and UC levels.
“The challenges are ones we share. They are tough decisions that everybody is making,” she said.
Smith said students can go through undergraduate and graduate student governments as well as state-wide organizations like the University of California Students Association. In addition, campus departments often have student organizations that can provide greater insight.
“Money flows to the unit, so students in the departments can voice their concerns,” Smith said.
Sina also recommends keeping an eye on the UC Board of Regents’ discussions and staying involved in the work being done in departments.
“To be engaged in those conversations will be critical,” Sina said.