Fresno State students, administrators and community
members gathered on Dec. 2 to question Provost William
A. Covino about the proposed reorganization of colleges.
Ciara Norton / The Collegian

Students, faculty and other community members met with Provost William A. Covino and the Academic Affairs Budget Advisory Task Force on Dec. 2 to openly discuss the proposal to combine and reorganize schools and colleges at Fresno State.

The open dialogue at the Satellite Student Union was scheduled after the Academic Affairs Budget Advisory Task Force created a list of recommendations addressed to the Provost about reducing the budget gap at Fresno State.

The task force identified in its findings that Fresno State is currently faced with a budget gap of $1.7 to $2 million.

Among other suggestions by the task force, the proposal that has gained the most attention from the public is the consolidation of the College of Science and Mathematics into the College of Agricultural Sciences.

By combining and reorganizing schools and colleges, the task force suggests that administrative costs will be reduced and key programs will become stronger.

The task force also affirmed that by reducing the number of schools and colleges to six or seven, the savings will be between $250,000 and $500,000.

Rebecca Asami, a geology graduate student, spoke against the merging of the colleges

“I don’t think my degree is going to be worth as much if it comes from the College of Agricultural Sciences,” Asami said.

The task force also recommended to reduce the amount of courses offered that consistently have low enrollment. Members of the task force said that this would improve scheduling issues as well as save up to $1 million.

“Every suggestion that we make is going to have an impact,” said Michael Caldwell, co-chair of the task force and chair of the department of music.

Task force members explained that deciding where to make budget cuts is not an easy process.

“I think their job is difficult and times are tough, but I don’t think they’re considering every option so I think we are being marginalized,” Asami said.

The task force also recommended raising the fees for students who spend too much time working toward a degree, reconfiguring or suspending graduate programs with 50 students or less and reorganizing undergraduate programs with fewer than 160 majors.

During the open forum, people with concerns about the recommendations were allowed to ask questions to task force members as well as Provost Covino.

Topics addressed included the pros and cons of the reorganization, possible alternative suggestions and many other concerns about the future of education.

Maria Hernandez, a freshman at Fresno State, has not declared a major yet but said that the forum and the proposals will have an impact on her when she decides her field of study.

“For me, this is good information to know,” Hernandez said. “I definitely think it will affect my decision when I am choosing a major.”

The recommendations made by the task force are now in the hands of Provost Covino, who will look further into what the long-term impacts there will be if such actions are eventually implemented.