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Curriculum Cutbacks

Throughout the university students are feeling the effects of sharp
cutbacks in the curriculum.  Overcrowded classrooms, fewer discussion
sections, overburdened TA's and fewer professors <197> all this
undermines the quality of instruction and the education received by
students.  At the same time, because not enough sections are offered and
because entire courses are eliminated, students often cannot major in
the field they want to; others have to stay at UIC 5-6 years (or more!)
before they can get all the classes required for graduation.

Students in every department tell about the deteriorating quality of
instruction.  During the first week of this semester, many students
found their section combined with other sections, doubling or even
trebling the size of the class.  Many freshmen and sophomores are in
classes of 200 plus students.  Even upper-level courses are overflowing.
Many students also report that discussion sections have been eliminated,
so that their only contact with an instructor is in an overcrowded
lecture hall.

Along with this, some professors are increasingly unavailable to help
students because of their research obligations.  TA's are overburdened
with school work, teaching and also conducting their professor's
research.  Students who need <169>hands on<170> instruction can't get
it; many end up dropping various classes or getting poor grades as a
result.  A student has a right to see and talk with the instructor, to
get needed direction about <169>how to<170> and <169>what to do<170>
when faced with homework problems.  Students need an opportunity to ask
questions, engage in dialogue and get a thorough understanding of
concepts.  But these <169>basics<170> of education are becoming harder
to get at UIC.

On top of all this, other basic services, which assist the educational
process, have also been severely cut.  For example, the main printer has
been taken out of SEL and there are no computer consultants in SEL with
whom a student can talk to face-to-face.  Yet many students spend most
of their academic life on the computer.  The cutback in the number of
sections offered and the elimination of various classes often ends up
changing the whole course of a student's academic career.  Some students
overload themselves, taking on more than a reasonable academic load for
fear that certain needed classes will not be offered next semester.  The
end result is that the student is unable to devote enough time to each
course and her/his grades suffer.  Other students are slowed down or
prevented altogether from fulfilling the requirements for their major
because not enough sections are offered.

Many students end up going to UIC for 5-6 years just to complete a
4-year degree program.  In the process students spend thousands of extra
dollars, go deeper into debt and have their life put <169>on hold<170>
for several years.  Others have to change their major and give up on
their career choice or preferred field of study simply in order to
graduate (they just don't have the funds or the time to wait to get the
courses they need!).

Students cannot afford to sit by while the curriculum at UIC is cutback,
undermining the quality of education and preventing students from
pursuing their chosen field of study.  As <B>The Student<D> has pointed
out, the curriculum cutbacks are the result of <B>definite policy
decisions<D> <197> decisions made as a result of federal and state
cutbacks in funds for education, decisions made as a result of the UIC
administration's priority to enhance its research status, while putting
undergraduate instruction on a back burner.

Yet UIC is a public university.  It is financed by our tax dollars as
well as by our tuition.  We cannot allow the government and the UIC
administration to make decisions which have such a dramatic impact on
our lives as students as well as on our future.  We have every right to
demand that the curriculum meets the needs of the students.  We must
come out as a united force to make our voice heard <197> to demand an
end to curriculum cutbacks, to demand a quality education geared to our
needs.


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If you have any questions, comments, or like sources of information send
me mail at U38026@uicvm.uic.edu.
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"What good is it, if a country should have all the knowledge of
science and history, and only a few have access to the knowledge."

"An affordable and qualitative education is a right, not a privilege."
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