Budget Reduction: Should it Result in Quality Reduction?

Jinhyun Kim

The article “Insult to Injury” describes that “midyear [budget] reductions have been a national phenomenon over the past few months”, among colleges in the United States. This sudden budget reduction affecting a lot of colleges, which were apparently not prepare for this problem, has become a big issue recently to many of people such as college students, teachers, and faculties.

Colleges or universities, bigger or smaller, form own communities within which include various things from academics to profession to recreation. Colleges and people of the community usually greatly benefit from these as well as academics. However, if colleges cannot figure out how to solve this low budget issue, all the exciting things beside academics of colleges will be short of fund, and they will lose a great factor of their community.

Also as showed in the article “Insult to Injury”, school cannot afford all the teachers as full time employees. Some schools had to let go of some teachers or faculties. Some schools had to shift toward employing more part-time teachers. In addition, fewer classes offered and larger class size would likely occur, and people became to worry about the change in quality of education that students are getting in higher education according to the article, “Are State Budget Cuts Affecting the Quality of Public Higher Education?”

I think the ones who will be affected by the budget reductions the most and the longest are the college students as well as prospective students within a few years. There can be an increase in tuition from the school for the new students to enroll in the college. Besides, it will be harder for schools to provide the same financial aid to students. It could be a lot of pressure for some students over the nation to choose or go to school that they want. Students go to a college not only to study their major but also to experience a lot of activities and opportunities that they like other than classes. Students would not be very happy if they cannot continue having some fun in extracurricular activities aside the hard works from classes.

The issue of budget reductions in colleges is giving a big problem not only for school faculties but all the people belong to the community. I hope the college communities, together as one, can discuss and use this chance as a time to invest and find the ways of reducing wasteful cost and saving money for the greater good for everyone.