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VOA教育报道2023--West Virginia University to Cut Languages, Creative Programs

时间:2023-09-25 02:28:31

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West Virginia University to Cut Languages, Creative Programs

School leaders at West Virginia University recently proposed cutting almost 10 percent of the university's study programs and over 100 educators because of a $45 million budget deficit1.

Included in the cuts were study programs, known as majors, in world languages, art history, jazz performance, creative writing, and degrees in math and education.

The languages include Chinese, French, German, Russian and Spanish. In addition, professors leading programs in linguistics2 and TESOL could be cut.

‘Emotions are high'

The university's Office of the Provost considered "several key metrics" to reduce or eliminate majors. The metrics included: the number of students interested in the majors, the ratio of students to professors in the program, the amount of money the programs bring to the school, and the future research plans each program had.

WVU released its plan in early August. The school permitted the affected3 programs to appeal the university's decision. The cuts resulted in a large protest on August 21.

The provost, one of the university's top leaders, is Maryanne Reed. At a meeting during the protests, she called the time "incredibly stressful," and noted4, "emotions are very high right now."

The university's final plan will be announced in the middle of September.

Appeal results

The World Languages department appealed WVU's proposal on August 25, asking the university to reconsider part of its plan.

Lisa Di Bartolomeo is one of the professors in the department. She also attended the university as a student.

Before the appeal, she told VOA that cutting foreign language instruction would hurt students from West Virginia when they look for jobs. She said it would hurt their career earnings5 and hurt elementary and high school-aged children in West Virginia who depend on language teachers trained at WVU.

"The best and the brightest students don't see a future for themselves in West Virginia."

On August 29, WVU said it planned to follow through with much of its proposal. It is likely to cut all language majors but continue some teaching in both Spanish and Chinese. The university said it is important to continue with those languages because Spanish is in "high demand" and Chinese is a "critical need."

Reed said the university will remove a foreign language study requirement for students seeking Bachelor of Arts degrees. The university said it will work to support students who are interested in "immersive (language) experiences" through study abroad programs.

Poor planning?

Those who run the school are concerned about the state's decreasing population and the decreasing number of college-aged students. West Virginia is the only state in the U.S. with a population that is lower today than it was in 1950.

WVU has about 27,000 students. About 25,000 are at its main campus in Morgantown. That number is 10 percent lower than it was in 2015. That means the school takes in less money from students and taxpayers6.

The population loss is one reason for the university's financial problems. New student housing and new academic buildings meant for a growing number of students are empty today.

E. Gordon Gee7, the university president, said the cuts are needed so WVU can be "a competitive university on the national stage." He said the school is not taking its reduction proposal lightly. University leaders say study programs and professors are not all that are being cut.

International students affected

Among the 27,000 students at WVU, there are about 1,000 international students. Some of them are studying in the programs that might be eliminated. All of them will be permitted to finish their degrees. But no new students will come into the eliminated programs. That process is called a "teach out."

VOA Learning English spoke8 with two international students who are worried about their study programs: Jose Ramirez is a music and higher education graduate student from Colombia. Winda Melati is a higher education graduate student from Indonesia.

Ramirez also is a graduate of WVU's world languages program: he studied German.

He said the plan to take away most language teaching is "sad," and he wondered if the university no longer sees language learning as important.

Ramirez said:

"And it's also showing... like kind of the mentality9 of a lot of English speakers is that they don't need to learn another language because everybody (else) will learn English."

Melati said she is concerned for herself and other students who are in the U.S. on F-1, or student visas. Some, she noted, planned to stay at WVU to continue teaching or studying after completing their degrees. Now they may have to change their plans because of the cuts.

Melati and Ramirez both expressed concern about the programs and the value of their degrees if they are cut. Melati asked: "How can I be proud of (my work) if I graduate from a program that is no longer there?"

Ramirez said he feels lucky that he was able to study at WVU, but he feels sad that future students will not get the same instruction he did. They worry international students will not come to WVU after learning of the cuts.

But, Henry Oliver of the university's global affairs office believes the university will still appeal to international students.

"WVU has a really long-standing history and appeal for international students. And to be honest, I don't expect that to change."

He noted that popular WVU programs are safe. He listed most science, technology, engineering, math and business study programs. "These programs are still things that remain very strong at WVU and will continue to be strong," Oliver said.

A compromise ahead?

Many who are protesting the reductions say they would have liked to see the university do more to talk with professors, students, employees and West Virginians before announcing the cuts.

Both Di Bartolomeo and Ramirez are afraid there was not enough input10 from students, parents and graduates.

And Ramirez said, even with the appeal process, he believes most decisions have already been made.

"I would like to be wrong, but I think that everything is ... they are just seeing the numbers and the numbers are not making it."

Words in This Story

linguistics –n. the study of how languages work

metric –n. a tool for measuring something, especially something's value

ratio –n. the relationship that exists between two values which can be expressed as two numbers

stressful –adj. causing worry or fear

immersive –adj. a method involving being completely surrounded by a language in an effort to learn it

eliminated—adj. having been removed or ended

graduate –adj. having already graduated from undergraduate schooling


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 deficit tmAzu     
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 linguistics f0Gxm     
n.语言学
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。
3 affected TzUzg0     
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。
4 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
5 earnings rrWxJ     
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
参考例句:
  • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
  • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。
6 taxpayers 8fa061caeafce8edc9456e95d19c84b4     
纳税人,纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
  • She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。
7 gee ZsfzIu     
n.马;int.向右!前进!,惊讶时所发声音;v.向右转
参考例句:
  • Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
  • Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇!我们会赚好多钱啦!
8 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
9 mentality PoIzHP     
n.心理,思想,脑力
参考例句:
  • He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
  • Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。
10 input X6lxm     
n.输入(物);投入;vt.把(数据等)输入计算机
参考例句:
  • I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
  • All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

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