VOA教育报道2024--US Colleges Cut Programs Because of Budget Deficits, Fewer Students

Christina Westman hoped to become a music therapist when she came to St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. But that became impossible when the college announced a plan to cut its music department along with 42 other study programs.

The move is part of a wave of program cuts among small and large colleges in the United States. The aim of the cuts is to deal with budget deficits². Causes for the deficits include less government money, rising operational costs and fewer students.

The cuts mean more than reduced budget deficits or job losses. "For me, it's really been anxiety-ridden," said Westman. "It's just the fear of the unknown."At St. Cloud State, most students will be able to finish their degrees before the cuts. But Westman is transferring to Augsburg University in Minneapolis.

Colleges are holding on

For years, many colleges avoided making cuts, said Larry Lee. He was acting³ president of St. Cloud State but left last month to lead Blackburn College in Illinois.

The number of students enrolling⁵ in college dropped during the pandemic. But officials hoped the number would return to levels that existed before the COVID pandemic. They had used federal aid money to ease budget deficits.

"They were holding on, holding on," Lee said.

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center said students have begun to return to two-year community colleges. But the numbers for four-year colleges remain lower than expected. Even without growing concerns about the high cost of college and student debt, the population of young adults in the U.S. is shrinking.

Birth rates fell during the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009 and never recovered. Now smaller classes of high school students are preparing to finish and head off to college.

"It's very difficult math to overcome," said Patrick Lane, a vice⁶ president at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

In addition, the new federal government's financial aid application has created more confusion. Millions of students are wondering where to go to college and how to pay for it.

Katharine Meyer is an expert with the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. She said, "I think a lot of colleges are really concerned they're not going to make their enrollment⁷ targets."Many colleges like St. Cloud State had already faced budget problems. The university's enrollment rose to around 18,300 students in the autumn of 2020 before steadily⁸ falling to about 10,000 students in 2023. Its student population has stopped shrinking. But the budget deficit¹ totaled $32 million over the past two years, forcing the sweeping⁹ cuts, Lee said.

Some colleges are closing

Some colleges have taken the more extreme step of closing.

That happened at the 1,000-student Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama, the 900-student Fontbonne University in Missouri, the 350-student Wells College in New York, and the 220-student Goddard College in Vermont.

Cuts, however, are more common. Two of North Carolina's public universities in Asheville and Greensboro plan to cut 14 programs including ancient Mediterranean¹⁰ studies and physics. Arkansas State University announced it was ending nine programs. Three of the 64 colleges in the State University of New York system have also cut programs because of low enrollment and budget problems.

Other schools cutting study programs include West Virginia University, Drake University in Iowa, the University of Nebraska campus in Kearney, North Dakota State University and nearby Dickinson State University.

Experts say it is just the beginning. Schools that are not making cuts now are examining their class offerings. At Pennsylvania State University, officials are looking for similar or under-enrolled programs to cut.

Humanities and small programs affected¹¹

The most affected programs are usually smaller ones and those in the humanities, which now have fewer students than 15 years ago.

"It's a humanitarian¹² disaster for all of the faculty¹³ and staff involved, not to mention the students who want to pursue this stuff," said Bryan Alexander, a Georgetown University senior scholar who has written on higher education. "It's an open question to what extent colleges and universities can cut their way to sustainability."Terry Vermillion recently retired¹⁴ after 34 years as a music professor at St. Cloud State. He said the cuts are hard to watch after the pandemic.

"We were just unable to really effectively teach music online, so there's a gap," he said. "And, you know, we're just starting to come out of that gap and we're just starting to rebound¹⁵ a little bit. And then the cuts are coming."Lilly Rhodes is a music major at St. Cloud State. Rhodes said, "There's no musicians coming in, so when our seniors graduate, they go on, and our ensembles¹⁷ just keep getting smaller and smaller.""It's a little difficult to keep going if it's like this," she added.

I'm Mario Ritter Jr.

And I'm Jill Robbins.

Heather Hollingsworth reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English.

Words in This Story

therapist -n. a person who treats people with medical conditions but is not a doctor and does not use drugs

anxiety-ridden -adj. filled with nervousness, worry or tension

transfer -v. to change enrollment from one school to another

enroll⁴ -v. to go through the process of being accepted to a school

confusion -n. a state of being unsure about something

faculty -n. the teachers at a school, college or university

staff -n. employees who are not faculty members

sustainability -n. the ability to carry on business so that income meets or is greater than costs

gap -n. something that is missing

ensemble¹⁶ -n. a small group of musicians who play together

1 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

2 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

5 enrolling   

v.招收( enrol的现在分词 )；吸收；入学；加入；[亦作enrol]( enroll的现在分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They lashed out at the university enrolling system. 他们猛烈抨击大学的招生制度。 来自辞典例句
• You're enrolling in a country club, Billy. 你是注册加入乡村俱乐部了，比利。 来自辞典例句

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

8 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

9 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

10 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

13 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

15 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

16 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

17 ensembles   

整体( ensemble的名词复数 )； 合奏； 乐团； 全套服装（尤指女装）

参考例句：

• I love to play in all types of ensembles. 我喜欢参与吹奏各种各样的合奏曲。
• The 5th Brigade is now taking 895 Land Warrior ensembles to Afghanistan. 第五旅现在携带895套陆地勇士装备去阿富汗。