<p>There are going to be a hell of a lot of layoffs. Courses will be cut. Class sizes will get bigger, conceded a Harvard insider.</p>
<p>From today's piece: Rich</a> Harvard, Poor Harvard: Vanity Fair | Vanity Fair</p>
<p>Warning - the article contains some profanity when it comes to describing Harvard's current financial situation.</p>
<p>That article was really alarming. I hope class sizes don’t bigger.</p>
<p>Class sizes won’t be affected. The faculty is not being laid off, and the reason some classes have hundreds of students in them is entirely because students choose to take those classes. Nothing to do with the university’s financial situation. It’s section size that will be allowed to go above 18. The grad school is being shrunk, so there will be fewer grad students serving as TFs.</p>
<p>Ah, yes. PosterX is definitely back. If only Byerly would come back too, we could have a very amusing thread.</p>
<p>Other than the sensationalist tone, the only new news in this story seems to be that Harvard’s endowment decline is going to be 23 to 25 percent rather than the 30 percent originally projected. By way of comparison, Yale’s decline is projected at 25 percent and Princeton’s at 30 percent.</p>
<p>Harvard’s response to the economic downturn is no different than what is going on at similar universities across the country - as this sidebar in the same magazine, comparing the rest the Ivies, points out. [The</a> Sad, Suffering Ivy League: Thomas Kaplan | Vanity Fair](<a href=“http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/07/the-sad-suffering-ivy-league.html]The”>http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/07/the-sad-suffering-ivy-league.html) But Harvard, of course, sells magazines better.</p>
<p>Of course, these days a lot of kids don’t bother with the classes (especially if the prof is boring) since they can get the notes online.</p>