Son is still interested in Ithaca despite the declining enrollment and huge faculty cuts (his research didn’t include these facts). His communication with a professor in his major AND the praises of past grads put Ithaca up on his list. However, we have since learned of the faculty cuts, and overall low morale from current students (the local press interviewed faculty and students). Merit $ made this school attractive initially, but knowing what I know now, it’s hard to get excited about this. Are there any current students or parents of current students that can shed some light on the current state of affairs? Do they feel the worst is over or just getting started…
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@Herewego2003, I have a child who received his degree from IC in 2020, and another accepted as a member of the class of 2025, so can offer some thoughts. Declining enrollment projections (I believe first flagged over 20 years ago by the college) led IC to start planning for reduced students a number of years ago. IC laid off over 160 staff positions in the spring due to COVID (I’m not sure how many were called back once school opened up again), and now they will cut the faculty by over 150, many part time or untenured. Some majors will no longer be offered, based on declining interest and numbers. With less students to go around, many colleges simply have to find their way to a new reality. Ithaca will reduce its student body to about 5,000. This is hard for any college to manage, but given the colleges that have closed over the last 5 or so years in our area, and those still struggling, I feel that coming up with a plan is better than not…It’s a tough time to be in college, and losing faculty liked by students is also tough. My youngest remains very interested in Ithaca, and my hope is that, if this is his ultimate choice, that the strength of his major and fall turning a corner on COVID, will offer a good experience for him and others. There are some very strong options at Ithaca, and I think part of this hard change is to focus on them and make the college stronger overall.
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As this thread is close to a year old, I was wondering if anyone had any current insight on what is happening now in regards to the cuts/downsizing. Is morale better now? My DC was accepted into Park and is very interested in the school.
Probably better to start a new thread.