What was meant to be a run-of-the-mill Keene State College Senate meeting became an almost hour long conversation about the current educational climate.
Journalism, Multimedia and Public Relations (JMPR) Department Chair Julio Del Sesto took advantage of the courtesy period of the April 12 KSC Senate meeting to discuss his concerns about recent curriculum changes and faculty and staff attitude.
Curriculum Changes Everything
“I think in this past year, we’ve lost sight of two very important things: that our students are the center of our universe, and that our curriculum is sacred,” Del Sesto said.
He added, “Restrictions on course offerings and course sections being cut have led to significant hurdles in degree progress for our students. So, we are being asked to – and, sometimes, we have no choice but to – offer course substitutions and alternatives that are often wildly inappropriate. At the same time, I’m aware that those asking for specific enrollments and substitutions wouldn’t be asking under better circumstances.”
Sarah Shuff, a staff member in the registrar’s office, said that within the last two years, the registrar’s office has seen course substitutions almost double in size.
KSC President Melinda Treadwell said, “It is really important that we remember that the students are the reason we’re here.”
Loss of Morale & Participation
Del Sesto noted that he thinks faculty morale and lack of participation in events is an issue that needs to be addressed for the sake of KSC students. He referenced a remembrance event for first-year soccer player Kelsey Mayer that took place shortly after a motor vehicle accident that caused her death. The Equinox reported on Mayer’s death on March 27.
“A couple of weeks back, we lost one of our students and we almost lost another. On March 30, there was a remembrance for Kelsey [Mayer]. There weren’t many faculty present. I don’t mention this to make anyone feel guilt, I miss things all the time. I mention it because our students noticed,” he said.
Del Sesto noted that faculty participation is currently looking slim for the upcoming commencement ceremony for the KSC class of 2023, with only 35 faculty members signed up for the festivity at the time of the Senate meeting.
“I believe there are times, these formative instances, where we should be there. In this regard, I’ve heard that out of the more than 300 faculty that were invited to graduation, only 35 have signed up,” he said. “I know it’s not required by contract. And it’s on a Saturday. And parking is horrible. But It’s one of the most important days in our students’ lives and their last memory of this institution. So, if you haven’t signed up, I hope you will reconsider.”
Treadwell said that ever since faculty contracts were changed to make commencement attendance optional, participation has declined drastically. “A year after we took it out of the contract, we went from 95% participation rate to about 80, to 75, to 50, to about 45 or 35% participation rates by our faculty, and I will tell you, every year I’ve been back, we cajole, and beg, and remind, and push to try to get our faculty to be there…” she said.
Piper Pavelich can be contacted at
ppavelich@kscequinox.com
Click here to read about the Senate’s response:
https://kscequinox.com/2023/04/ksc-senate-responds-to-concerns/
