By
Blake Smith
Arizona Daily Wildcat
15 instructors spread out among 800 students, department denied enrollment cap
ring the past five years, the number of faculty in the UA Communication department has been dwindling, while the number of majors has been increasing - keeping many students from graduating on time.
Currently, there are 15 full-time and adjunct faculty to teach more than 800 undergraduates in the department. In contrast, the atmospheric sciences department has 10 faculty members to teach 56 students.
"It is a huge problem," said Michael Dues, acting communication department head.
A major restructuring of the program three years ago has attracted many students from the crowded University of Arizona Eller College of Business and Public Administration, Dues said. However, during that same time, many faculty members have left for other positions within the university or left for other schools.
In some communication classes with massive waiting lists, prospective students give short speeches as to why they should be in the class, then enrolled students vote some of them in.
"We let people in this school, they pay their tuition and we don't deliver," Dues said. "We owe them the courses they need to graduate in four years."
Communication senior Brian Frane has been able to get all of his needed classes, but said he has seen the effects of overcrowded classes.
"One time, I walked into a class and the teacher walked in," Frane said. "Fifteen people with drop/add forms were standing there, and before saying 'hi' to the class, she told them to get out."
He added that until the department gets more communication instructors, they should stop letting students declare the major.
David Williams, communication department undergraduate adviser, said the department has tried to put a cap on the number of students allowed into the major, but the university will not allow the cutoff to occur.
About three years ago, the Communication department worked out a proposal to reduce the faculty to student ratio from 100-to-1 down to 45-to-1, Dues said.
The proposal called for more faculty to be hired and a maximum of 500 students to be allowed in the major.
Since that time, an administrative committee has refused to approve the initiative, citing the need for minor revisions.
"I am philosophically opposed to the cap, but it is the best we can do right now," Dues said.
Until the proposal is approved, students wanting to graduate will continue to face difficulties completing required classes.
Williams said the department is doing everything in its power to help students, given the department's resources.
One step the department is taking is to hire three new faculty members this semester.
"I would bend over backwards to get them graduated," Williams added.
He said the best advice for communication majors wanting to graduate in a timely manner is to take summer school.
Dues is helping students by allowing them to fulfill upper division requirements through an independent study course. He currently oversees 18 students doing independent projects.
Frane said that while the department has been good to him, he has learned a few things to make the lives of fellow students easier.
"Add and drop classes during registration, don't try to do it during the first few weeks of class," he added.
Dues said students thinking of becoming communication majors should reconsider.
"I wouldn't recommend becoming a communication major unless you can go to summer school," he added. "We're in motion in the right direction, but it will take some time."
