Yesterday was the first of two "Last Call" registration dates for fall term. By the middle of the afternoon, nearly every seat in most of our General Education core classes was taken. We have a second day of regular registration this afternoon....I was worried about class availability. With all of the budget cutting we've already endured, how would we find enough money to teach all of the classes?
As always, our amazing department chairs and faculty stepped up to the plate. With coordination by our Student Affairs director in the dean's office, we've managed to add seats to some existing courses, open new sections, and shift other responsibilities around so that we are ready to provide course options to the new students who will be joining us this afternoon.
The only way this kind of response is possible is that faculty and staff in our college are working overtime to meet students' needs. With modest salaries (the AVERAGE faculty salary in our college, excluding the salaries of administrators like me, is about $55,000) and heavy teaching loads (the AVERAGE load is about 155 SCH per term, which equates to teaching a class size of 52 students) we are already stretched to our limits. Required research activity, committee service, and supervision of graduate students further add to the burden.
I'm grateful for the faculty's strong commitment to our students. They continue to do whatever they can to ensure that students continue to receive the highest possible quality education.