Aaron Burns & Courtney Van Haaften | Co-Editors in Chief

The results of prioritization decisions were released to the Buena Vista University (BVU) campus during the late morning of May 12, 2015. An email addressed from President Fred Moore was sent to students outlining final decisions that were approved by the Board of Trustees. Along with the exploration of new programs and ideas, 10% of the current faculty and staff has been eliminated due to cuts in various areas.

Several academic programs have been discontinued and will not be offered to students as of fall of 2016. Students currently in the programs have the opportunity to complete their studies, if done so in a reasonable timely manner. The following program discontinuations, in part, were chosen because of low past, current, and incoming student demand:

• Chinese classes & minor
• German classes & minor
• International studies minor
• Japanese classes & minor
• Philosophy & religion major/minor (general education courses will remain)
• Public administration major/ minor (wrap into political science as a track)
• Social science major/minor (Storm Lake only)
• Sociology minor (Storm Lake only)

The report to students also noted that BVU will establish “Signature Programs” in academics, which will be used to elevate outstanding academic programs and enhance enrollment. These programs will be emphasized in the university’s promotional efforts. The email noted that this does not mean that the other programs are not important. The administration hopes that through these efforts, BVU will stand out in the marketplace, heightening the significance of a BVU degree, and by association, raise the value of all other academic programs. The Signature Programs will include the following: elementary, secondary, and special education; business and accounting; biological and chemical sciences.

Accompanying the Signature Programs, a Bachelor’s + 1 program will also be developed. Through this program, students can earn a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree within five years of study. The program will begin with the Signature Programs with possible additions in the future. Current students are eligible to enroll in this program or in the two-year Master’s programs that will be developed in the next few years: a Master’s in organizational leadership and in special education.

Additionally, two new interdisciplinary majors are being explored. These will be developed to align with current job market demands. Market research will also be conducted to potentially develop other new majors. The new interdisciplinary majors are:

• A visual arts & design major with potential tracks in art education, scientific/medical illustration, animation/motion graphics, art management, and art therapy.
• A strategic communication major designed to produce professionals capable of creating, analyzing, distributing, and managing messages through variety of media with special emphasis on digital media.

In addition, the report announced administrative and co-curricular programs that will be changed or reorganized:

• The RIDES Bus will be reduced to only offering service on Saturday nights compared to the current Friday and Saturday nights.
• A new position will be created: the Office of Student Engagement, Equity, and Diversity. This will be used to further enhance and incorporate programming in these areas. Some positions are being consolidated with multicultural, student activities, and leadership development duties being distributed among current Student Affairs staff.

Following the athletic coaching positions that have already been discontinued, the university is currently accepting applications for part-time men’s and women’s tennis and golf coaches. The assistant football coach position has already been filled and the assistant track positions are nearly completed.

Ultimately, as a result of the decisions, faculty and staff positions have been reduced. The financial resources associated with these reductions will be reallocated to help fund other decisions. In total, 35 full-time positions were reduced. Of these 35, 11 positions were not currently filled and two are anticipated voluntary retirements. Campus wide, out of 341 employees, roughly 10% of the positions were reduced, leaving 306 employees.

“Unfortunately, as part of this process, there are some personnel who will be affected,” Moore said in the email. “We are working with those whose positions are being eliminated to ensure they are treated fairly, and they will be receiving severance and additional job transition and employee assistance services.”

According to the email, the prioritization process has also developed an initiative to push the university in new directions to pursue BVU’s vision. These ideas include targeting new revenue sources, aiding enrollment in Storm Lake and GPS, and addressing the external challenges in higher education. Some of the initiations are the Bachelor’s +1 Master’s Degrees, mentioned above, offering training and development in areas such as leadership and project management (possibly partnering with community colleges), and guaranteeing that students receive the resources to finish in four years with internship and job search assistance through the Office of Career and Personal Development.

“The decisions made as a result of this process will enhance BVU in important ways and will play an integral role in helping us achieve the objectives of our strategic plan,” Moore said. “The financial resources that are being reallocated will strengthen BVU, as a whole, in the years to come.”

The Tack ONLINE will have continued coverage of prioritization throughout this week. Students are encouraged to attend an open forum session with President Moore on Thursday, May 14 at 6 p.m. in Hanson 8. The Tack ONLINE is allowing students to anonymously submit questions and concerns through this form to be considered to be asked during the open forum or during interviews with administrators.

Graphic courtesy of University Marketing and Communications

Update: After the publication of this story, the BVU administration issued a correction to the employee numbers referenced in its original email to students. The story has now been updated to reflect these revised numbers.