BMCC administration claims they can cut these positions and still offer students CHOICE among course offerings.
The complete closure of Criminal Justice, Chemistry, Accounting, Music, Anthropology, and Geography, as well as College prep, would suggest otherwise. How can those courses be taught, if the qualified instructors in these specialized fields are no longer in the Pendelton community?
General education course requirements offer students a variety of humanities and social science courses to fulfill their degree breadth. The potential offerings at BMCC will be halved.
The student to full time faculty ratio is currently 75 to 1 and courses covered by part time instructors are essential to maintain a successful learning environment and the in class ratio of 20 students to 1 instructor. If these cuts are made the student ratio will jump to 104:1.
By reducing the instructor pool by ⅓, there is no way the college can offer the same number of courses or the variety of modalities. This means students will have a harder time registering for the courses they actually need and time to completion will increase.
An estimation of the number of classes that will NOT be on the schedule (as they are currently offered by faculty identified by these cuts) suggests over 200 courses will not have the staff required (or expertise) to run. Leaving a potential 2000 seats unfilled by students. That’s 2000 students who won't have the classes they wanted, or needed for their program.
Inside Higher Ed, a national entity identified that successful colleges offer more classes that are developmental by design. These are courses that strengthen students’ intrapersonal skills (including their ability to cope with frustrations, disappointments, failures, and losses, overcome distractions, negotiate conflicts, engage in cross-cultural conversations, and adapt to shifting circumstances); that prompt critical thinking about current campus, social, and political issues; and strengthen students’ metacognitive skills and capacity for critical self-reflection.
Throughout the 2020s, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects more than 1,000,000 STEM jobs will have been added, representing nearly 11% growth compared to less than 8% for all other industries.
See: https://www.rclco.com/publication/2021-stem-job-growth-index/
In support of the Criminal Justice Program. Not only do we have EOCI, and TRCI, but careers requiring criminal justice bachelor's degrees are some of the fastest-growing in today's modern economy. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), for instance, forecasts that more than 53,000 new jobs for police officers and detectives will become available by 2026.
