WVU cutting 32 majors, all foreign languages

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a smart move and far more colleges need to do this kind of cutting and then work on keeping tuition from increasing.

As far as foreign language in college, I have met people who majored in a foreign language- can barely put together a sentence in that language. And let’s face it kids are taking 4 yrs if foreign language in high school and then possible another year in college and for what? They don’t become anywhere even close to even being able to hold a conversation. Duolingo is fine

You’ve been sold a lie. What needs to be cut is administrative bloat, not academics.

Which administrators would you cut?

All of them.

Who would run daily operations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. What a colossal waste of time and money. Study something relevant and something you can use to become a productive member of society.

AI will reduce most jobs you likely consider “useful”

This would argue that nobody should go to college anywhere. Is that your advice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. What a colossal waste of time and money. Study something relevant and something you can use to become a productive member of society.

AI will reduce most jobs you likely consider “useful”

This would argue that nobody should go to college anywhere. Is that your advice?

No, but you already knew that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. What a colossal waste of time and money. Study something relevant and something you can use to become a productive member of society.

AI will reduce most jobs you likely consider “useful”

This would argue that nobody should go to college anywhere. Is that your advice?

No, but you already knew that.

So what are you suggesting if AI is going to reduce most useful jobs? Crickets I assume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“because it is inherently enriching and broadening to understand that there are other cultures and languages.“

I live in a small obscure city in the heartland. There are Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Arabic, & Italian restaurants. My doctor is Indian. My handyman is Mexican. My priest is from Poland. Previous priest was from Ghana. Where do you live that you think Americans aren’t aware that there are other cultures?

“We don’t need our kids to study no furrin languages … they can just go to the Mexican restaurant and eat them tacos!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“because it is inherently enriching and broadening to understand that there are other cultures and languages.“

I live in a small obscure city in the heartland. There are Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Arabic, & Italian restaurants. My doctor is Indian. My handyman is Mexican. My priest is from Poland. Previous priest was from Ghana. Where do you live that you think Americans aren’t aware that there are other cultures?

“We don’t need our kids to study no furrin languages … they can just go to the Mexican restaurant and eat them tacos!”

Actually, we pretty much don't. Most Americans who learn a foreign language do so because their school requires it, they achieve a rudimentary level of proficiency (maybe they can read but they can't speak fluently), and they don't retain it after they graduate because they stop studying it or using it. Which tells you, they never needed it, and all the effort to force it into their brains was wasted.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Probably 0.1% of the student body. Powerful support. Administration will surely listen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My dd that attends WVU was not there today because she is doing a study abroad semester. She is not a language major but is in a program that is slated to be cut. We are grateful that she is a senior and able to do the study abroad before the program is eliminated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a smart move and far more colleges need to do this kind of cutting and then work on keeping tuition from increasing.

As far as foreign language in college, I have met people who majored in a foreign language- can barely put together a sentence in that language. And let’s face it kids are taking 4 yrs if foreign language in high school and then possible another year in college and for what? They don’t become anywhere even close to even being able to hold a conversation. Duolingo is fine

Speak for yourself! My son is a STEM/German major and will do his internship in a lab in Germany. His German classes are absolutely helping him (far more than Duo Lingo).

And a lot of the Germans will
want to speak English with him so there is that ….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me why people are saying that college applicants are declining but in other threads people are talking about a demographic bubble that won’t start decreasing until 2026 or so? Which is it?

Colleges have 1MM fewer students today vs 2013. You can easily Google that.

This is primarily due to fewer HS grads attending due to cost and seeing so many underemployed college grads. The demographic decline I think technically starts with the class of 2025 and the accelerates with the classes of 2026+. A byproduct of the Great Recession of 2008 and beyond.

The number of applications per kid has spike due to the common app and the internet making it easier to apply. So there is a divergence between number of applicants and total applications.

However, all these extra applications are going to top 100 schools for the most part.

In the case of WVU, I believe the school has dropped from 29,000 students to 21,000 (from the article). WVU falls into the 3900 schools that will see reduced demand unless they do something drastic like make it free for instate…copy what GA and FL are doing with scholarships. Problem is the state of WV doesn’t have the resources of FL or GA.

.

Absolutely agree that they should move to a formula based admissions process - quicker and easier

They could also take better advantage of their 2 year campus

[Anonymous]

Tweets by a self-proclaimed WVU Faculty Member
@AnonymousF59605

More cuts than just to foreign languages:

Computer science and electrical engineering: eliminate 4 of 32 faculty
Mining engineering: eliminate 1 of 6 faculty
Civil and Environmental Engineering: eliminate 6 of 20 faculty
Pharmacy: Eliminate 8 of 41 faculty FTE
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering: eliminate 2 of 7 faculty
Chemistry: Eliminate 5 of 28 faculty
Plant and Soil Sciences: Eliminate 11 of 21 faculty

The above are "practical" majors, and I am surprised they're taking any cuts.

Meanwhile:

Women's and Gender Studies: No cuts

This is the opposite of what you'd expect a RW administration to do, but who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tweets by a self-proclaimed WVU Faculty Member
@AnonymousF59605

More cuts than just to foreign languages:

Computer science and electrical engineering: eliminate 4 of 32 faculty
Mining engineering: eliminate 1 of 6 faculty
Civil and Environmental Engineering: eliminate 6 of 20 faculty
Pharmacy: Eliminate 8 of 41 faculty FTE
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering: eliminate 2 of 7 faculty
Chemistry: Eliminate 5 of 28 faculty
Plant and Soil Sciences: Eliminate 11 of 21 faculty

The above are "practical" majors, and I am surprised they're taking any cuts.

Meanwhile:

Women's and Gender Studies: No cuts

This is the opposite of what you'd expect a RW administration to do, but who knows.

Cutting Engineering and Pharmacy is eating the seed corn. Cutting the fossil fuel departments in WV is really calling into question whether they are actually serious there about having a comprehensive 4-year public university in the state at all.

German, okay, Creative Writing, okay, it's not a lib arts powerhouse but the specialized state-specific professional tracks too?

Alabama and Mississippi have somehow figured out that big merit aid discounts and sports/fun reputation can still attract plenty of outsiders to your low-growth low-income state but yet West Virginia, which sits next to the best-educated most affluent region in the country (that's us, kids), and is like an hour from Pittsburgh, is going "welp better close up shop then".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me why people are saying that college applicants are declining but in other threads people are talking about a demographic bubble that won’t start decreasing until 2026 or so? Which is it?

Colleges have 1MM fewer students today vs 2013. You can easily Google that.

This is primarily due to fewer HS grads attending due to cost and seeing so many underemployed college grads. The demographic decline I think technically starts with the class of 2025 and the accelerates with the classes of 2026+. A byproduct of the Great Recession of 2008 and beyond.

The number of applications per kid has spike due to the common app and the internet making it easier to apply. So there is a divergence between number of applicants and total applications.

However, all these extra applications are going to top 100 schools for the most part.

In the case of WVU, I believe the school has dropped from 29,000 students to 21,000 (from the article). WVU falls into the 3900 schools that will see reduced demand unless they do something drastic like make it free for instate…copy what GA and FL are doing with scholarships. Problem is the state of WV doesn’t have the resources of FL or GA.

Evidence for this claim?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tweets by a self-proclaimed WVU Faculty Member
@AnonymousF59605

More cuts than just to foreign languages:

Computer science and electrical engineering: eliminate 4 of 32 faculty
Mining engineering: eliminate 1 of 6 faculty
Civil and Environmental Engineering: eliminate 6 of 20 faculty
Pharmacy: Eliminate 8 of 41 faculty FTE
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering: eliminate 2 of 7 faculty
Chemistry: Eliminate 5 of 28 faculty
Plant and Soil Sciences: Eliminate 11 of 21 faculty

The above are "practical" majors, and I am surprised they're taking any cuts.

Meanwhile:

Women's and Gender Studies: No cuts

This is the opposite of what you'd expect a RW administration to do, but who knows.

It's a tiny program mostly staffed by affiliated faculty. If there are no cuts there, means their limited course offerings enroll well.