In the final week of September, campus officials announced the 100-plus-year-old program would be discontinued following the conclusion of the current fall quarter. Cited among reasons for its elimination were “steadily declining enrollment” figures and alternative fitness options offered through Davis’ Campus Recreation activities. In recent years, total enrollment in the program has ranged from 5,900-7,800 (close to 20 percent of the UCD undergraduate population) with nearly a quarter of students enrolled in multiple PE classes...
While enrollment figures do reflect a decrease over the last several years, PE lecturers have been quick to point out said trend is a result of the university offering less [sic] courses, not a decrease in their popularity...
UCD Director of News and Media Relations Melissa Blouin told The Enterprise the decision had been made “after considerable review by groups of faculty and staff over a period of multiple years.” But members of the Davis Faculty Association claim that’s not the case. According to DFA co-chair Jesse Drew: “It happened so fast, it caught a lot of us off-guard.” ...
Among several concerns [of] the DFA:
*Why there was not a larger degree of engagement with the campus community concerning the decision and its consequences, noting that Davis’ Academic Senate has formal authority in decisions of this nature." ...
This past Wednesday, Drew said the DFA had also learned of UCD’s notice of plans to suspend its popular teacher education program — a K-12 credentialing path offered through Davis’ School of Education. A separate petition that move has also amassed 2,000-plus signatures. “This cannot happen unilaterally,” Drew said. There’s a set of procedures for wrapping up and (closing) down programs...
Full story at https://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/faculty-association-pushes-back-against-ucds-plan-to-cut-pe-programs/
No comments:
Post a Comment