Alyssa Wilson ~ Editor-in-Chief
Although the University of Lynchburg recently announced a steep deficit, the President of the institution is not worried about a decline in the student experience, having faith in the faculty and staff of the University to contribute to this effort.
On Dec. 15, 2022 President Alison Morrison-Shetlar and Provost Allison Jablonski hosted a town hall meeting for faculty and staff, laying out the strategies being put into place to ensure future and current financial security.
Universities nationwide are suffering from deficits due to COVID-19 in addition to general enrollment decline and funding issues, so the University of Lynchburg is not the only institution experiencing financial difficulties.
“I would like to say that we are in a much better place than so many other institutions, and we’ve got a great strategy in place,” says Morrison-Shetlar. “It will not impact the student experience negatively, in fact we’re looking to enhance the student experience.”
The University is undergoing a ‘re-alignment’ of departments in order to make sure that there are no “duplication of efforts”, according to Morrison-Shetlar. This re-alignment process has resulted in the non-renewal of contracts for four separate faculty members.
“It’s the nature of higher-education,” explains Morrison-Shetlar. When a faculty member is laid-off it is often the case that they are at the end of their contract and have a semester to find a new job, for staff members at an institution they are notified a few weeks in advance.
Concerns among campus members have emerged regarding if the student learning experience will decline due to the consolidation of departments and move to a 4:4 teaching schedule, decided on by Provost Jablonski.
The universal 4:4 teaching schedule will go into effect in the Fall semester of 2023.
The move to a new teaching format will make sure that there is an even playing field amongst faculty members.
Although some professors may have a larger workload than they had in previous years, Morrison-Shetlar is confident that faculty, staff and administrators are excited for the new changes being made.
For example, Dr. Sabita Manian was recently selected as the new Dean for the Lynchburg College of Arts and Sciences and Eric Baldwin has been with the University for a little over a year, serving as Vice President for Student Development.
“She’s [Manian] identified as a leader that can move us forward in a positive direction. Eric Baldwin came in and reimagined student development,” says Morrison-Shetlar.
Morrison-Shetlar has had positive feedback from students through conversations that have taken place over the past school year. She says many students are enjoying the student experience and love new changes such as the wellness and belonging portofolio.
Academic Affairs is undergoing the most change out of the multitude of departments within the institution.
In a recent email sent out to all faculty, Provost Jablonki says that the president approved $3.9 million in budget savings for Academic Affairs.
In part, these budget savings will result in changes in faculty workload as mentioned previously, restructuring of academic affairs (reducing the amount of deans, addition of Manian as new Dean of LCAS), academic advising changes and others.
To date, no academic programs have been eliminated.
Vice President Christy Cole is teaming up with the Provost to work on a new faculty-led five-year plan to reimagine the University and its current culture.
Jablonski also mentions that the University Data, Analytics and Effectiveness office is currently working on the preparation for the 10-year reaffirmation report for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), led by Cole.
The University is already an accredited institution with highly qualified faculty members, and has an effective strategy in place to fight the deficit, therefore there are no worries from Morrison-Shetlar about the upcoming accreditation.
All-in-all the University and its leaders are focusing on the betterment of the student experience and they are collaborating together in order to support student success.
