Lockett 284. Monday morning. About 40 students scramble to finish a math homework assignment. Several students go up to the teacher’s small wooden desk and ask for assistance. The teacher patiently answers their questions and provides clarification.
As class begins, the teacher, Susan Saale, returns test corrections to the students. They were allowed to re-work the test problems to give them a better understanding of the material.
Throughout the class, Saale works with the students, asking them to help her along as she works problems on the chalkboard. Saale knows many of the students by name, and many participate throughout the hour.
Next fall, things may be different. The College of Arts and Sciences plans to cut instructors and combine several sections of lower-level math and English courses into large sections with as many as 500 students. The plan is to cut 20 instructors a year for the next three years.
Saale, who has been teaching at the University for more than 20 years, said she does not think this move will be in the best interest of students.
She now asks students to re-work problems they miss to learn from errors, and encourages them to come to her with questions.
“It becomes a learning experience for them,” Saale said.
Saale said she thought that complete understanding could be lost in larger classes.
There has been much anxiousness among some faculty members about the cuts, she said.
“I would say there is a lot of uncertainty as to what our futures will be,” Saale said. “Some are looking at how it impacts retirement. I am one of them.”
Robert Calmes, an English instructor, said he did not understand how the large class sizes would be beneficial to students.
“A lot of the students in these classes need writing help, and we do a lot to get them into shape,” Calmes said.
Some students may be discouraged from coming to the University because of the large class sizes, Calmes said.
“A lot of students go to Southeastern, in part because of the small classes,” Calmes said.
Nolde Alexius, an English instructor, said she thinks the English department’s teaching of writing and composition is a unique way of educating students, and the current plan “compromises the instruction of composition.”
“English provides a unique service to the University and should be allowed to adapt in a new way,” Alexius said.
Alexius said though she does not think most people would say the University’s Flagship Agenda is bad for Louisiana, the implementation of the plan may give the Flagship Agenda a bad name.
“There are ways that our plan to adapt to the agenda could soften the blow of balancing the instructor/professor ratio, which would enable people to embrace the agenda,” Alexius said.
Saale said most instructors she has spoken to are concerned about their jobs, as well as the University.
“Almost all of us have graduated from LSU, and this is a University that we all love,” Saale said. “We want quality instruction for the students, and we want students who come in to leave with a better understanding of math.”