The College of Saint Rose School of Education Review
ALBANY — It has frequently been stated within the pages of this paper that ane of the best music scenes in the nation resides hither in the Uppercase District. That may be no more.
Final week, the College of Saint Rose kicked a hole in the speaker and pulled the plug on 3 of its music program's four degree programs, a near jettison of one of the best curriculums in the land.
"Information technology is no secret that weighty financial challenges are pressing on colleges and universities throughout the land," said Marcia White, equally the acting president announced how the school'southward lath of trustees slashed nearly $6 million in expenses.
The college currently offers 109 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and advanced certificates and has 3,774 undergraduate and graduate students and a total upkeep of $71 million. According to a school press release, the cuts stand up to affect 10 percent of undergraduate students and iv per centum of the graduate students enrolled at Saint Rose.
"Nosotros are beingness proactive by making hard decisions now, as painful equally they are, said White. "These decisions are necessary to the long-term hereafter of Saint Rose and come as part of a series of difficult choices nosotros have had to brand this year in gild to take a counterbalanced budget by 2023."
Current students enrolled in these programs will be able to finish their degrees and will receive individualized degree completion plans. No new students will exist enrolled in the programs scheduled for closure.
The cuts targeted programs the school observed as declining or showing historically depression enrollment. Other degree or certificate programs were eliminated because the schoolhouse said the cost to maintain them was higher than the revenue generated by enrollment.
Earlier this year, the college made $eight million in administrative and staff expense reductions including layoffs, salary reductions, and freezing the staff pension programme.
The program closures will eliminate 33 of the college's 151 full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty positions in December 2021. In addition, eight full-time visiting faculty on almanac contracts volition not exist renewed.
"These changes mean the loss of bookish programs that are of high quality, valuable to society, and a significant role of the college'south history. Sadly, after much idea and extensive analysis, we have made the determination that nosotros can no longer afford to maintain them," White said.
"To every single student and faculty member afflicted past The College of Saint Rose's outrageous decision to cut multiple music/art programs, my center goes out to you," stated contempo graduate Josh Morris on social media.
Morris, and his Hasty Folio bandmate, Zane Agnew both earned their degrees this spring. The three-homo band has been a pop fixture in a local music scene i ValuePenguin.com study named No.six in the United States as being among the all-time for music fans.
Saint Rose was indirectly named among the reasons backside why Albany's Capital District ranked so loftier. Factors used within the study included musicians, venues and music education degrees.
"At the finish of the day, education is the core of whatsoever musical try," wrote Morris. "The amount of cognition and inspiration I have gained from my music teachers over my four years at Saint Rose is incomprehensible, the cognition itself is invaluable, and the memories made will remain unforgettable."
White and other administrators labored over the terminal several months to develop an expense reduction plan. Discussions included the importance of maintaining the integrity of the college'southward educational mission while taking the steps needed to ensure the college'south fiscal stability.
"Nosotros need to build a stronger base – i where operating expenses and revenue align – in society to meet electric current challenges in college education and the challenges yet to come up," said Jeff Rock, chair of the Saint Rose Board of Trustees.
Soon after Saint Rose announced its cuts, an online petition emerged on change.com. As of Saturday evening, nearly 4,000 people signed their support.
"Today, Saint Rose told us that they don't believe in music," stated Doris McKinney, who created the petition. "It'south clear the institution doesn't sympathise the gravity of what it's lost."
Source: https://spotlightnews.com/thespot/2020/12/16/college-of-st-rose-cuts-several-programs-including-music-education/