Budget cuts needed but hurtful: a painful necessity

With the economy having hit near rock bottom over the past several months, VCU is one of the many universities to feel the effects.

The effects of the down-turning economy are worrying some students. Some complain of not being able to register for certain classes because of cancellations- a result of budget cuts. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the budget cuts will increase class sizes and will reduce the amount of teachers.

According to an e-mail sent out by University President Eugene P. Trani, VCU is facing 5 percent budget cuts-or $10.1 millio. According to the e-mail, VCU was instructed to submit plans for a 5 percent budget cut, a 10 percent cut and a 15 percent cut. While VCU ended up with the most optimal situation – a 5 percent cut – everyone is still feeling the burn. VCU will not know the final budget cuts until December, but the cuts will be made in addition to the $9.7 million in cuts implemented in 2008.

At first glance, it looks like there is little wrong; VCU has built a gargantuan expansion on the Monroe Park campus, but might be letting some mass communications teachers go because they no longer can afford to pay them. The economy is in a bad situation, but there are better areas to cut back. For example, did we really need three new restaurants that VCU built when they expanded to Monroe Park Campus to feature a new dorm, School of Business and an expansion of the School of Engineering?

It is unfair to the students to be able to complete many construction projects but not have enough money to pay teachers-because after all, our education is most important.

The construction of the new buildings was warranted, especially because VCU has more and more students every semester. A line needs to be drawn somewhere. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, VCU currently has the largest student body in Virginia with 32,000 students. While it is true VCU’s growth has improved Richmond, it is a bad idea to keep accepting large numbers of students if the university does not have the resources to accommodate them. If there were fewer students, less money would have to be spent. While wanting to be the biggest school in the commonwealth is certainly an admirable goal, there are mile-long lines in the University Student Commons and Shafer Dining Court.

VCU cannot afford to lose anybody else. Advisers are already almost impossible to find to dispense advice, and registration is a mess of overrides into classes that are not big enough to accommodate the massive amounts of people who need to take them. The School of Mass Communications is a perfect example of this problem. It is hard enough to get into classes as it is and VCU needs every good teacher it has. There are just too many people and too many classes that can only fit about 15 people with only one section. VCU says funding for faculty and classes is still a “top priority,” but it is not a priority if VCU cannot afford to pay teachers.

Budget cuts are necessary and are happening at many Virginia public schools, but there has to be a better way to trim the budget than letting teachers go and reducing the amount of classes offered. VCU could cut down on how many students they plan to admit in the upcoming spring and fall semesters, because if class sizes are larger from with fewer classes offered, current students should have priority. People have to graduate college at some point. To do that, good, solid teachers are needed and there must be enough classes offered to accommodate the large amount of students.