Following a Town Hall meeting hosted by Keene State College’s (KSC) cabinet and Chancellor Cathy Provencher of the University System of New Hampshire (USNH), The Equinox feels our school administration needs to have a clear and feasible plan moving forward that aligns with our liberal arts identity.
The meeting was hosted on Jan. 23 in the Alumni Recital Hall and saw KSC Interim President Donald Birx presenting a proposal featuring KSC as a three-school model, separating into School of Liberal Arts, School of Applied Sciences and Technology and School of Education and Professional Programs. With the current financial state of our university system, we believe the costs of new administration for each of these programs is unrealistic. If we are unable to afford all of our faculty positions, by letting go of 25 staff members, what money do we have to spare in order to hire administrators for each individual school?
Even if the school were to hire pre-existing staff as administrators, those professors would then be unable to teach their students, leaving us with fewer professors than before. Keene State can not afford to lose any more educators in the classroom.
The reasoning behind Birx’s proposed three-schools model is unclear, but if it’s intended to be a marketing strategy, we believe the college’s current marketing team has been doing a successful job.
The reorganization efforts seem to be focused on our identity as a liberal arts college, with the idea of separating into three distinct colleges, and only one specifically “labeled” as liberal arts. Regardless, Birx claims the college would still be considered a liberal arts institution. We feel this strategy is not well thought out and is only to appease the legislators who have repeatedly targeted our schools.
If there were a clear problem and solution with how our programs are identified and implemented, students would be making that argument to KSC administrators.
The NH government has proven time and time again that they do not believe in higher education and they simply could not care less about college students. Would this, of all things, really be what changes their mind? We shouldn’t fall victim to the games our government keeps trying to play.
The Equinox believes that instead of trying to throw together “solutions” to appease NH conservatives, we should focus our efforts on the court of public opinion. The people who ultimately elect our representatives and legislators are the ones who will, at the very least, listen to our concerns.
If KSC is aiming to grab the attention of the 18-25 demographic of students who chose not to attend any higher education, why not go to the root of the source, the people themselves?
However, those who live in a state that neglects its university system, with budget cut after budget cut, are certainly more likely to choose a different career path if crippling debt is not feasible for them. Still, many students are attending college by taking out loans they hopefully can afford to pay off in the future, regardless of whether they are still in debt at age 50. It’s an unfortunate hand that many college students are forced to play.
The Equinox strongly believes we need a strategic approach to address financial challenges and legislative threats, rather than superficial marketing strategies.
We understand the ideas of our school’s administration, but with no well-thought-out plan, students and staff are left confused and concerned for the future of Keene State.
With the constant changes students have experienced within the last year: Budget cuts, the KSC president resigning, an interim president hired, and all of the crackdowns coming from the state and federal government, students want to know that the future of their education is being actively protected and fought for, not reimagined or reorganized.
We have wasted enough of our time trying to find hasty solutions that do not truly solve any of our ongoing financial struggles.
