CSU Chico Music Program in Jeopardy (transferring to, public school, university)

[WesternPilgrim]

CSU Chico lost its strings program some years ago, and just last year lost its organ program. Now what's left of the university's music education program is threatened.

Here's a student's plea for help.

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Dear Colleagues:

I am requesting your help. Due to monetary problems, the "bean counters" at our school are planning to cut or at the least suspend programs with less than 30 student majors. At this moment we have 26 declared music education majors, and hence our program is being eyed by them. The impact of this loss would not only affect the music education program but also all of the performance ensembles, which would cease to exist. And of course this would take music out of the music department. They have not figured out that the loss of all performance groups would of course impact the University's out reach, which seems to be very important to them.

Our Dean and Department Chair are fighting very hard to keep our program but are in need of any support they can get.

If you feel the loss of music education at Chico State would be a loss to the north state, I would encourage you to send an email or a letter. Letters seem to be regarded as more powerful than emails, however any contact would be important.

Send to: Dean Joel Zimbelman:JZimbelman@csuchico.edu

Dean Joel Zimbelman
College of HFA
CSU,Chico
400 West First Street
Chico CA 95929-0800

Thank you for your support.

A CSUC music student

[WesternPilgrim]

Dear CSUC:

Maybe consider dropping your worthless Multicultural and Gender Studies Program (http://www.csuchico.edu/catalog//mcgs/MCGSNONEUN.html - broken link) instead?

Just a thought.

Sincerely,

WesternPilgrim

[lrmsd]

College programs are not set in stone. 'Higher Learning' is meant to evolve or at least be dynamic. These institutions are a product of consumers, as well as their location. If Chico needs to cut due to the budget issues, then it makes sense to cut the program with lower enrollment and/or high cost.

Perhaps transferring to a campus w/in CSU or UC, with a strong historically, and non impacted, music program, is the best option?

Frankly, even i n good economic times, many campuses should have been cutting and re evaluating, not just adding programs. This would be the smart way to create 'sustainable' college economies, or sustainable businesses. Long term planning is not a strong suit in US culture as a whole, and even less so in many public institutions. Ebb and flow is a fact of life.

It's great that CSU has such a diverse range of programs and locations to choose from, anyway. At least for the time being.

To use a micro example to understand this: If you need to cut something from your personal budget, you do a cost/benefit analysis to make your decision. It's called life.

For the life of me, I never understand all of this protest on college campsues in terms of enrollment impact, staff, course offerings, etc. [public school systems, yes. college, no.] It's unfortunate, but not a right, to have subsidized college classes. I just read the stats posted on another thread, about the population growth in CA, from mid 80's to 2005, several million people added to the pop.

Add to this the increase in students attending college. It is obvious that the schools either need to raise tuition [or have tuition], or cut services. You cannot have the same size programs, with that many more people utilizing them, plus add cost of living increase for staff, and cost increase for inflation, to run said programs, and expect the budget to remain the same.

Do people learn critical thinking anymore? Honestly.

Perhaps some alumin donors or private donors will step up and fund the program for another year or two?
And, something else will spring up if the program closes, regarding the strings ensemble. Perhaps it will become a community funded endeavor? Or a non profit with grant money funding it? You never know what good thing may come out of a seemingly bad thing. There are always options for 'incarnations' of various programs. I'm sure the professors are fighting hard to keep said programs; they will lose their job! On that note, sorry that your program is impacted; I do understand it affects you in many ways, personally. At the same time, be open to new horizons-they may end up being better than what you think you are 'losing'.

[jaijai]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

Dear CSUC:

Maybe consider dropping your worthless Multicultural and Gender Studies Program (http://www.csuchico.edu/catalog//mcgs/MCGSNONEUN.html - broken link) instead?

Just a thought.

Sincerely,

WesternPilgrim

You know, i think we just might agree on something.
Although i wouldn't label any class as "worthless".
But the loss of art and music programs is not a good thing.

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

For the life of me, I never understand all of this protest on college campsues in terms of enrollment impact, staff, course offerings, etc. [public school systems, yes. college, no.] It's unfortunate, but not a right, to have subsidized college classes. I just read the stats posted on another thread, about the population growth in CA, from mid 80's to 2005, several million people added to the pop.

Add to this the increase in students attending college. It is obvious that the schools either need to raise tuition [or have tuition], or cut services. You cannot have the same size programs, with that many more people utilizing them, plus add cost of living increase for staff, and cost increase for inflation, to run said programs, and expect the budget to remain the same.

Do people learn critical thinking anymore? Honestly.

I agree with you with respect to budget issues in general, but this is really a different kind of question.

This is a question of what, precisely, constitutes a truly liberal education (meaning "liberal" in the classic sense, not the political sense). Education is nothing if it is not the deliberate pursuit of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, and toward that end the study of music is indispensable. If CSUC drops its music program, it is choosing not to educate - an odd position for a university. But perhaps that is a choice they made a long time ago ...

I understand that no university can do it all, and some very good schools (University of Dallas comes to mind) do not have music programs. However, CSUC has a long tradition of commitment to music, it has a paid-for and expensive music infrastructure, and more importantly, it is wasting resources on educationally worthless pursuits that should have been cut a long time ago. By cutting out music education CSUC would be sacrificing authentic education for the sake of political indoctrination, social experimentation, and a decadent pop-culture.

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by jaijai

You know, i think we just might agree on something.

A welcome development, jaijai.

[jaijai]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

A welcome development, jaijai.

one love, one heart.

[WesternPilgrim]

drop acid not bombs!

[Ceece]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

Dear CSUC:

Maybe consider dropping your worthless Multicultural and Gender Studies Program (http://www.csuchico.edu/catalog//mcgs/MCGSNONEUN.html - broken link) instead?

Just a thought.

Sincerely,

WesternPilgrim

While I agree with you completely I have to wonder how many students have declared this major.

26 declared music education majors vs...?

While I personally prefer the music majors, and think the Multicultural and Gender Studies program is not worth much, does the university decide what majors to offer the students or does it offer what the students want to major in?

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by Ceece

While I personally prefer the music majors, and think the Multicultural and Gender Studies program is not worth much, does the university decide what majors to offer the students or does it offer what the students want to major in?

A university that truly educates needs to set the agenda, lead, and inspire on the basis of some objective criteria, as opposed to merely following the money by supplying a consumer product. If there were no unworthy programs or expenses left to cut (which is not the case), it would be better to raise tuition than to eliminate music education.