CBS12 News Team

Students protest FAU budget cuts

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Students at Florida Atlantic University gathered today to protest against budget cuts that are forcing some of their classes to be cancelled.

Students protested outside the administration building Thursday afternoon. They're angry over what they call unfair and arbitrary reductions in summer courses. Almost 1,000 courses have been cut this year.

Protestors held signs and chanted "cut our courses, cut our future." They stood on the administration building steps and at one point even went inside to confront school officials, but they got kicked out by FAU police.

The Florida Legislature hit FAU with an unprecedented $30 million in budget cuts for the coming year. For some students the cuts will delay graduation by a semester or a year because a required course is not offered in the summer. They also say classes were slashed by administrators with no input from students or faculty.

"It's really depressing, it's sad. I got my undergraduate from FAU and I decided to come back here. It is just a shock the university wouldn't go through their own staff, let alone their students," said Monique Paramore, FAU graduate student.

The school has slashed all courses from the summer 2012 schedule which did not enroll at least 24 undergrads or 11 grads last summer 2011. Faculty and students say this mandate ignores the need for small classes in lab and studio courses, many of which have simply been cancelled this summer. The faculty is also planning to protest next Wednesday.

FAU Provost Brenda Claiborne sent CBS 12 the following statement:

FAU is currently offering more than 2,000 sections this summer and the
Registrar is continually adding courses to meet student needs.

Because FAU’s budget was reduced by $25 million, classes with the most
student demand were scheduled first. The deans and chairs then added
more than 1,000 classes that have smaller enrollments. These courses
included lab sections, required graduate courses, distance learning
courses, internships and other small courses.

Deans and chairs are making every effort to offer classes that
students need while meeting budget constraints.

I’m pleased that we are now using waitlists for courses; a student can
add his or her name to a waitlist and will be notified as soon as a
new section is added or a seat becomes available in the classroom.
Students are using this new feature and it is a tremendous help to
deans as they work to add sections and courses.

By constructing a more efficient summer schedule, we will be able to
balance the budget and save instructor and staff jobs next year.

Courses will continue to be added, so students should register early,
check the schedule often, and work with their advisors to ensure they
can make progress toward degree completion.
Students protest FAU budget cuts

Tuesday, May 1 2012, 02:34 PM EDT

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