Undergraduate students will have a chance to give their input on the future shape of the foreign language curriculum at UT during a forum tonight hosted by the Senate of College Councils and the Liberal Arts Council.
The forum will start at 6 p.m. in UTC 4.112. Students from all colleges may attend.
The forum will be the first opportunity for undergraduates to voice concerns about potential changes to the language curriculum, said Lauren Ratliff, president of the Senate of College Councils.
“We are the ones who are going to have to take these classes,” Ratliff said. “And so far, our voices haven’t really been heard.”
Liberal arts Dean Randy Diehl withdrew a proposal earlier this month to reduce the amount of required foreign language hours from 16 to 12 as part of cost-saving measures. For now, the requirements will remain the same, but the individual departments within the college are being asked to reallocate approximately $10 million to pay for debt service on the new liberal arts building and faculty salaries.
After the forum, the Liberal Arts Council and the Senate will compile the student input and draft a resolution explaining the student position on possible curriculum changes. Senate members will also meet with administrators after the forum to reiterate the ideas discussed at the meeting.
The forum may also address cuts to the fund that pays lecturer and assistant instructor salaries.
University French Club President Ryan Bosch, a biology and French senior, said most liberal arts students seem to know very little about the potential curriculum changes.
“Hopefully this forum will help students get additional information about what’s going on with these requirements,” Bosch said. “I think the lack of knowledge about these changes is a big problem.”
French assistant instructor Anne Gaskill said it might be difficult to motivate students to attend the forum because no one knows exactly how the requirements might change.
“I mentioned the changes to my class, and they seemed to be pretty shocked,” Gaskill said. “I passed around the petition, too, and most of them signed it, but it won’t affect most of them because they are already enrolled in the language program. We need to get the word out to people who haven’t already taken these classes.”
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