Shrinking Budget, part 2: Economic downturn may affect loans and class sizes

The effect of the economic recession will likely take its toll on students as the UW works to manage budget cuts that will have an adverse effect on class size and selection.

Most of the budget management is in the hands of the deans of various UW colleges, and since the budgets of the colleges primarily go to faculty, recent budget cuts will cause classes to be fewer in number and more crowded, wrote Ana Mari Cauce, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, in an e-mail.

Many UW students have experienced the large lecture classes. Although some don’t mind them, others have a strong preference for smaller classes.

“There’s not enough student-teacher interaction,” said junior Arlene Palomo of crowded lecture classes. “You’re more likely to skip or doze off.”

Ariana Tanimoto, a freshman, does not mind large lectures, but she always makes sure to sit in the front so she can hear.

“I wouldn’t want to sit in the back because I feel like I wouldn’t get a lot of information,” Tanimoto said.

Palomo often has trouble getting into classes that are in high demand, particularly the science classes. As a result, she is taking a chemistry class at Seattle Central rather than at the UW. She likes it better because the class is smaller.

“The budget cuts make it very unlikely that we’ll see this situation improving next year, and we will likely see some back-sliding,” Cauce wrote.

If the budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year is cut significantly, the UW may even have to admit fewer students, said Randy Hodgins, director of state relations.

Suzie Savino, a prospective UW student, said many people at her high school are worried about the increasing difficulty of being accepted to the UW. She is looking at Central Washington University and Eastern Washington University, but she wants to attend the UW because of its business program.

The irony of the situation is while the state debates cutting the UW’s budget further, student applications are flooding the admissions office at an unprecedented rate. The size and aptitude of freshman classes on all three UW campuses have been record-breaking.

This will probably continue as the faltering economy makes being in the workforce risky. Education is especially important to people in times of economic downturn, Harrington said.

“If jobs become scarcer, people go back to school,” UW President Mark Emmert said at the Oct. 23 faculty senate meeting. “So this is a time for the UW to do more, not less.”

At the meeting, Susan Astley, a professor of epidemiology, asked a question that may be on many students’ minds: What are students going to do as loans dry up?

The answer is reassuring. The UW made the decision to participate in the Federal Direct Loan Program, in which loans are borrowed directly from the federal government. As a result, the majority of students on campus will not have trouble obtaining loans.

The UW will work one-on-one with students who do not qualify for federal direct lending, Emmert said.

“The UW is in a better position than some places,” Emmert said.

Emmert remains optimistic despite the possibility of further budget cuts. He expects the economic crisis will be over by the time the entering freshman class graduates and that the UW will be able to stay strong through the difficult years.

“We don’t think that a 24-month blip in our budget is going to set our agenda,” Emmert said.

Reach contributing writer Robin Kallsen at development@dailyuw.com.