Brianne Smith is worried she might not be able to graduate inMay with a double major as she had planned.
Smith is like many other Consumer Science and Education majors,as well as students in many other departments that are concernedover how these changes will affect The University of Memphis as awhole.
The U of M will be reorganizing departments in an effort to savemoney and meet the Tennessee Board of Regents budget proposals forthe fall 2003 semester.
The Dance department was one of the first affected by theongoing budget analysis and reviews of productivity amongdepartments at The U of M.
The Consumer Science and Education Department is one suchdepartment that is going to be affected by these budget cuts.
Most of the CSED department will be moving into the UniversityCollege to save money on the administration costs of having twoseparate departments. The Nutrition program will be moving into theHuman Movement Sciences department.
"Our first choice would have been to have maintained theDepartment of CSED," said Dixie Crase, the Chair of the CSEDDepartment. "The faculty enjoys working together for the benefit ofstudents and value accreditation by AAFCS (American Association forFamily and Consumer Sciences)."
Smith, a senior, agreed the department worked well and she,along with fellow students, enjoyed the faculty and theircommitment to the students, but admitted she is still worried abouther future at The U of M.
"They keep telling us that it's not going to effect us," Smithsaid, "but we don't know that it's not going to."
For the time being, the curriculum will stay the same, adviserswill stay the same and the classes will remain in the same placefor the Fall 2003 semester.
Katie Adam, a University College major, thinks this may even bea good thing for the students in the program.
"As long as they can retain their advisors and a majority oftheir same classes, I don't think it will hurt them," Adam said."The University College programs are so diversified that you canreally make your own degree and do what you want. I think that willeventually help them in the long run."
For students like Smith, though, the future is not as positiveas it once was.
"I want to do a double concentration in Fashion and HomeFurnishings and I don't know necessarily if everything will beoffered for me or if they are going to cut here or change itthere," Smith said. "It might not be the same as I was hoping it tobe."
For faculty members like Crase, the change is not a badthing.
"In our case, we are pleased that faculty positions, programsand program accreditation are being maintained."
