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College students in LIU Put up’s music training program are protesting every week exterior the gates of the Brookville campus, decrying the choice to freeze new admissions to their main amid an ongoing downsizing of liberal arts applications.
The freeze, introduced after the autumn semester began and a brand new class of freshmen had begun their research to turn into music educators, means present college students may face dwindling courses as enrollment shrinks. They had been advised they’d get what was wanted for commencement, though it was unclear if courses can be in-person or as unbiased examine, college students stated.
A bachelor’s of science in music and a bachelor’s of fantastic arts in Music Expertise, Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing (MTEP) are the 2 surviving music division applications. LIU’s music training program lengthy has offered music lecturers to Okay-12 college districts, totally on Lengthy Island.
“I’m not going to lie, I really feel betrayed,” stated John Natale, 18, a freshman music training main from Holbrook. “I’m offended in regards to the lack of communication, how sudden it was and never warning incoming freshmen it was going to occur.”
The college, in an announcement, lauded its arts applications at its College of Visible Arts, Communication and Design — which incorporates the music division — and the College of Performing Arts, and maintained that its dedication to the humanities “stays unwavering and steadfast for the longer term.”
Applications had been consolidated as a result of “the collaboration wanted with scholar friends in lots of arts applications necessitates enrollment ranges, which on this case weren’t supported by demand,” the assertion stated.
The college, within the assertion, stated it’s working “with our arts college on curriculum assessment to pursue extra in-demand programming to make sure wholesome enrollment and a optimistic scholar expertise. All presently enrolled college students will have the ability to full the course of examine within the diploma they’re pursuing.”
Applications revamped amid enrollment decline
The music training program has greater than 30 undergraduate and graduate college students, its chair, Jennifer Miceli, stated.
Freezes additionally had been introduced in September for artwork training and dance. The music efficiency main and grasp’s in music and in artwork historical past had been amongst different arts applications frozen in recent times.
Liberal arts majors in areas equivalent to chemistry, physics, historical past, philosophy and sociology had been frozen final yr, on prime of prior freezes affecting overseas languages and different applications.
Ed Weis, LIU’s president for educational affairs, stated in an announcement final yr “during the last a number of years, LIU has been increasing program choices in high-demand areas whereas assessing applications with low enrollment.”
Since coming to LIU, a personal nonprofit establishment, in 2013, President Kimberly Cline has revamped choices and added new faculties and applications with a watch towards enhancing income, monetary rankings and retention charges as enrollment developments downward. Complete enrollment is 15,066, down from 17,583 in 2015.
In response to the Chronicle of Greater Training, “complete full-time-equivalent undergraduate and graduate enrollment on the Put up campus has declined from 6,029 in 2015 to five,458 in 2019, a drop of about 9.5 %, in response to data LIU supplies to its bondholders.”
Cline couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
Michael Soupios, a professor of political science and an outspoken critic of Cline’s administration, stated in an e-mail interview the spherical of freezes mirrored “the misguided utility of an ill-fitting enterprise mannequin to a college setting. … Have been there acceptable success in admissions and fundraising, there can be no want for these retrenchments.”
These in now-frozen diploma applications query whether or not they’ll get the standard training they anticipated once they enrolled. Natale stated changing in-person courses with unbiased research and ever-smaller musical ensembles wouldn’t present the identical expertise he was promised by the admissions workplace and the music division when he utilized.
“I used to be promised a lot with this program,” he stated, including if programs had been not obtainable as courses, “that will likely be breaking a promise to us.”
Scholarships seen as an element
LIU Put up’s web site guarantees “a full curriculum of bachelor’s diploma applications taught by greater than 40 nationally and internationally acknowledged performers, conductors, composers, researchers and music educators.”
Miceli, director of the music training program, stated LIU music training majors loved a “one hundred pc job placement.” The variety of graduates has declined in recent times, she stated, attributing that partially to the division’s lack of management over scholarship presents to potential college students. Figures on previous enrollment weren’t instantly obtainable.
“It’s now out of our arms, and admissions handles it,” Miceli stated. “With out the scholarship cash available because it as soon as was, the scholars and their households will make selections to go elsewhere.”
“What we have discovered to date is that they want to restructure applications in music; that is what we perceive,” stated Miceli, including she did not know if an try can be made to revive the music training program.
Julia Bremer, 21, a senior music training main from North Bellmore, is a frontrunner within the protests, which have taken place since Oct. 28 on Thursdays with from eight to 14 contributors.
“We’re attempting to deliver it again and brainstorm a method to improve enrollment,” stated Bremer, who’s president of the Collegiate Nationwide Affiliation for Music Educators. “However there’s no historical past of any frozen arts program coming again.”
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