Spring Break
EDITORIAL: Residency motion was faulty
Administrators used good judgment
Editorial | 3/24/09
Posted online at 11:35 PM EST on 3/23/09
/ Last updated at 2:04 AM EST on 3/23/09
Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe and Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy withdrew an Undergraduate Curriculum Committee proposal passed in the March 12 faculty meeting to change the residency requirement-the number of semesters a student must spend enrolled at Brandeis to graduate-from seven to eight semesters earlier this week in response to faculty resistance to the measure. Changing the residency requirement would have lowered the hefty tuition loss that occurs when seniors graduate early.
However, we approve of the administrators' decision to withdraw the proposal, as the new residency requirement would have hindered too many students' abilities to finance their Brandeis career.
Without changing the residency requirement or increasing enrollment, the University loses $750,000 in tuition money annually due to seniors graduating one semester early, according to Union President Jason Gray '10. Although increasing the residency requirement to eight semesters would have reduced the University's losses, the decision would have hurt students who count on being able to graduate in seven semesters to save money.
As a result of the economic recession, many students' families have been forced to reconsider their abilities to finance a college education. Obliging students in these circumstances to remain on campus for an additional semester would have compromised their ability to pay for their education. The administration demonstrated that it understands that making decisions to benefit the University financially at the expense of individual students' finances is generally not a good idea.
Increasing the residency requirement would also have been especially detrimental to the University's recruitment efforts. Prospective applicants to Brandeis might lose interest in a school that no longer demonstrates an understanding of students' financial concerns.
Removing the option of graduating in seven semesters would have also made it virtually impossible for students who encounter unexpected personal problems to take time off and still graduate with the rest of their class. The administration's decision leaves room for students with health issues or financial difficulties, for example, to arrange their academic schedules so they graduate on time.
While the administrators decided to withdraw the proposal to help close the University's budget gap by changing the residency requirement, Brandeis' financial problems have hardly disappeared. We still lose a substantial amount of money when students graduate early, and admitting more first-years may increase tuition revenue, but it only worsens overcrowding in the fall semester. Nevertheless the administration will have to do better in looking to other solutions, such as admitting more mid-years, that do not make a Brandeis education a financial impossibility for many students.
However, we approve of the administrators' decision to withdraw the proposal, as the new residency requirement would have hindered too many students' abilities to finance their Brandeis career.
Without changing the residency requirement or increasing enrollment, the University loses $750,000 in tuition money annually due to seniors graduating one semester early, according to Union President Jason Gray '10. Although increasing the residency requirement to eight semesters would have reduced the University's losses, the decision would have hurt students who count on being able to graduate in seven semesters to save money.
As a result of the economic recession, many students' families have been forced to reconsider their abilities to finance a college education. Obliging students in these circumstances to remain on campus for an additional semester would have compromised their ability to pay for their education. The administration demonstrated that it understands that making decisions to benefit the University financially at the expense of individual students' finances is generally not a good idea.
Increasing the residency requirement would also have been especially detrimental to the University's recruitment efforts. Prospective applicants to Brandeis might lose interest in a school that no longer demonstrates an understanding of students' financial concerns.
Removing the option of graduating in seven semesters would have also made it virtually impossible for students who encounter unexpected personal problems to take time off and still graduate with the rest of their class. The administration's decision leaves room for students with health issues or financial difficulties, for example, to arrange their academic schedules so they graduate on time.
While the administrators decided to withdraw the proposal to help close the University's budget gap by changing the residency requirement, Brandeis' financial problems have hardly disappeared. We still lose a substantial amount of money when students graduate early, and admitting more first-years may increase tuition revenue, but it only worsens overcrowding in the fall semester. Nevertheless the administration will have to do better in looking to other solutions, such as admitting more mid-years, that do not make a Brandeis education a financial impossibility for many students.
Be the first to comment on this story