GFU Announces New General Education Package and Changes to Academic Portfolio: Liberal Arts Programs Gutted
Reported by: Aurora Biggers
Photographed by: Imogene Eagan
During an interview with The Crescent last fall, Provost Andrea Scott was frank about George Fox University’s (GFU) academic priorities; liberal arts programs weren’t going to make the cut. Keeping in line with Scott’s statement, the university announced a new general education plan, which included notable cuts to liberal arts programs.
These changes come on the heels of a strategic plan that the university announced in the fall, to “Stay rooted in Christ. Be affordable. Be Flexible.” The new education plan, entitled “Building a Better University,” details the updated general education plan and changes to the university’s academic portfolio. The latter announcement sparked rage among undergraduate liberal arts students on Tuesday. Some students took to social media to express their frustration with the university. On Wednesday, senior student Maya Burgess stood outside Stevens with a sign and protested the changes: “You can’t have liberal arts education without the humanities.”
Burgess, a double major in international studies and politics, is now graduating from two majors that will no longer exist at GFU. “My heart breaks,” Burgess said, “[GFU administration] clearly saw a choice of finances over the beauty and impact of liberal arts.”
Maya Burgess outside Stevens. Photographed by Imogene Eagan.
Despite frustration from students, faculty, and alumni, GFU’s academic priorities are unlikely to change. When asked by The Crescent for a comment on the education changes, Scott reaffirmed administration’s position. “Change though often challenging and uncomfortable is a natural part of remaining the excellent school that we are,” Scott said, “I can’t emphasize enough that the changes we are undertaking have students at the heart and Christ at the core.” Scott also noted financial factors affected the decisions, citing “unfavorable market dynamics.”
Scott said she sympathizes with students’ but urges them to redirect their frustration: “Rather than speculate, students are encouraged to read the University’s strategy and historical websites to learn more about our history of innovation as well as the exciting times that are ahead.”
These changes shouldn’t be a surprise. GFU has been steadily whittling away at the liberal arts budget, following the direction of other universities across the U.S. Last year, the university began a round of discussions that resulted in cuts to more than a dozen faculty members and several programs, including phasing out international studies, French, and journalism. This new roll-out for GFU’s academic portfolio is an effort to “streamline the path to graduation, improve the student experience, and eliminate unnecessary courses.”
Courses slated for elimination are: theater, sociology, music education, health and human performance, chemistry, and information systems. The decision to eliminate chemistry and information systems may be more unexpected, but Scott has stated that her main priorities are directed towards medical programs and the honors program.
These eliminations will also undoubtedly change the demographics and culture at GFU. Shifting away from art programs, for example, will disproportionately impact LGBTQIA+ students.
Other programs that are significantly affected are Spanish, which will only be offered as a minor; music and business, which are being “reimagined” into smaller programs; and politics, which is now offered as a concentration within the history major.
The changes to the academic portfolio and general education package “will impact adjunct teaching assignments,” according to the announcement. The university will also “be evaluating the full impact of staffing changes in the next few weeks.” Students within affected programs were notified by their departments on Monday, coinciding with the university-wide release of the new plan.
After a department meeting, one humanities faculty member noted that “morale is really low right now [among faculty].” Some faculty members have felt passed over during the consulting process, though Scott told The Crescent that administration “invited input from all relevant constituencies including students, staff, faculty, and alumni.” George Fox's current governance system gives the administration and board the authority to eliminate programs without approval from the department chairs, program directors, or the faculty senate.
The Crescent was unable to confirm whether students and alumni were consulted or what this process may have looked like. When asked to provide details for this process, the provost said that the request for input was informal and that there is no list of students or alumni who were spoken to. “Students over time have communicated most clearly by their enrollment choices over time,” she said.
According to one department’s chair, after the administration and board decided which majors to eliminate or “reimagine,” the department chairs and program directors were able to influence how the changes were carried out, but not whether the programs were eliminated or not. At time of publication, The Crescent cannot confirm whether students and alumni were consulted or what this process may have looked like.
In the wake of the announcement, students are asking, if the university continues to gut its liberal arts programs, can it still call itself a “liberal arts university?” Yet, the university’s new education package reduces the number of credit hours required to graduate and promotes a 13 course liberal arts curriculum “that develop[s] the virtues of wisdom, patience, creativity, and intellectual humility among others.”
While the new education plan promotes a focus on liberal arts, the way it’s packaged may be deceptive. “Sure, we will still get a generic education that throws in some liberal arts,” Burgess said, “but this [plan] is just an attempt to make the cuts to the humanities more palatable.”
The liberal arts education track aims to replace the individual liberal arts programs, but it’s not exactly an even exchange. Students and faculty will still experience the removal of six majors and significant cuts to other programs—and not all of the eliminated programs will make it into the repackaged liberal arts courses. As a single effort, the cuts indicate an overall shrinking of the liberal arts education at GFU.
Continue to follow The Crescent for more coverage of this issue.
Updated 3 March 2021: We have received new information stating that the Theatre program will continue being offered as a minor.