I do not believe that prioritization is bad, but I truly believe that how the administration is handling prioritization is bad. There are a great number of changes that have happened in the past year or are in the process of happening. Unfortunately, we as the student body know very little about these changes or why. Instead of having an open dialogue about seniors not being able to live on campus next year, the administration decided to send not-so-happy emails notifying the class of 2015 of these changes. I pray that our administration does not handle prioritization the same way. Receiving an email either during finals week or during summer vacation, telling us about the cuts that were made would be a nightmare. Keeping the whole prioritization process a secret raises eyebrows. I do not think that the administration is doing anything shady, but if a vow of silence is taken and we are shut out completely, there isn’t much else to believe. With majors possibly on the line, President Brower, along with the other administrators, need to increase their communication with PLNU students.
This is an extremely difficult decision to make, I know, which is why the administration asked for another week to finalize these cuts, but this information should have come from our administrators, not my professor. We do not need to know every detail, but a nice little note, email, or announcement in chapel saying something along the lines of “Prioritization is a difficult process and we are trying to make the most net-beneficial decisions possible. In order to do this, we need another week to finalize these cuts, thank you for your patience” would have been nice.
These changes are going to shape and transform the next few years at PLNU, I am eager to see what changes are being made. I definitely do not envy the individuals that have to make the decisions to cut some programs and other expenses, but I do want to know what exactly is being cut, why and what this will mean for the future of PLNU. I propose a simple way for the administration to increase its immediate communication with students while letting us know the specifics of prioritization. This finals week, President Brower should host an open forum in Brown Chapel one night to let us, the student body and future of PLNU, know about the decisions that he and his peers made. I think it would be beneficial for the entire campus to have this open, honest information session about the decisions that were made that directly affect us all. If PLNU is a community, then the students shouldn’t be shut out.
Related Articles:
Prioritization results announced: multiple majors to be phased out from PLNU among other cuts
Note of clarification from Dean Nelson
PLNU looks to cut $2.2 million in spending through prioritization process
Prioritization announcements expected this week
