The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 5, 1985-- Page A 13 'U' schools rebound after cuts. By KERY MURAKAMI Two-and-a-half years after major budget cuts were made in three of the University's low-priority schools, of- ficials say they are back on track and improving their programs. The Schools of Natural Resources, Art, and Education were targeted for budget cuts as part of the University's "Five Year Plan" to reallocate funds to make the University, as a whole, stronger, said University President Harold Shapiro. THESE SCHOOLS were chosen af- ter a review committee, appointed to reallocate $20 million, decided the schools were low priority areas, and could sustain budget cuts to filter more money into high priority areas such as engineering and business. The art school was cut by 18 percent and natural resources by 25 percent. The education school was the har- dest hit - cut by 40 percent, or 1.4 million over five years - but Carl Berger, the school's dean, said the school's program is getting stronger. "IT'S HARD TO believe" that the cuts which aroused candlelight vigils and protests on the Diag were only a couple of years ago, he said. The education school had to eliminate 30 of its 75 faculty positions, with the remaining faculty members working closer together to patch up the holes. Instead of hurting the program, Berger said, "For the first time, all the faculty in the school will get a chance to get to know each other and learn from each other. As a result, I think we'll get a much better staff." DESPITE THE CUTS, the school is increasing the number of credits from the education school needed to get a degree. This move is aimed at improv- ing the program. Starting this fall, education students need 32 credits within the school instead of 28. And to earn a teaching certificate, students now need 130 total credit hours rather than 124. One reason the school was cut so heavily was that students in that school were performing scholastically below students in other schools. In addition, it had suffered a 35 percent drop in enrollment over two years. Berger said admissions requirements to the school have been tightened to improve the school's median grade point average. This year's incoming students were required to have a 2.3 average, up from the 2.0 G.P.A. from last year. BERGER ADDED THAT efforts to increase enrollment were "right on schedule." After the cuts, enrollment dropped from 1,500 to 800. The school currently has 900 students, with a goal of 1,000. The school is also improving its research by integrating computers and advanced telecommunications systems with education. Berger said he hopes this will attract top-notch graduate students. Berger said the attitude within the school is mixed. "Some are still con- cerned about our having an image problem, and they see recovering a long way away."~ WHILE OTHERS, he said, in- cluding himself, "think that the School of Education is the most ex- citing place to be working right now because things are really happening." At the School of Natural Resources, the word was also optimistic. "The in- itial shock is over and we're just star- ting to get back on track," said Tanya ,Bernard, a spokesperson for the school. "We're just starting to gain momen- tum" after the $500,000 budget cut to the school. But at the same time, the school is trying to phase out its freshmen and sophomore classes to become a 2-year upper-level program. Also, the school will start focusing on graduate programs instead of undergraduate ones. THE UNDERGRADUATE programs that will continue to exist will focus on problem solving - especially for environmental problems, said Linda Sorbo, the school's academic programs coor- dinator. These problem solving skills will make the students more attractive in the job market, she said. Another move to improve the school was the crackdown on admission requirements. Students have always needed a 3.0 G.P.A. to get into the school, but officials said this requirement was not always enfor- ced, and many students with lower averages were accepted. LIKE THE EDUCATION school:, the natural resources school suffered a drop in enrollment after the budget cuts. In January, enrollment was 410 students, down from 718 enrolled in the fall of 1982. School officials hope to level enrollment off at 500 students. Of the three, the art school seems to have rebounded the auickest. Enrollment figures have actually gone up slightly from the year the cuts were made, and the major initiative -- relying on teaching assistants tofill the gap left by lost faculty - has worked out well, according to Bar- bara Cervenka, an assistant dean of the school. Eight faculty positions wJere eliminated as a result of the $164;000 budget cuts, and the T.A. positions were designed to give the remaining faculty an opportunity to continue exhibiting their work rather than assuming the added burden from the faculty cuts. The plan was controversial at the time, and inspired art school students to hold a huge rally in the Diag after the cuts and the plan were announced. Cervenka says that enrollment for the school is back at about 550 studen- ts - the result of a nationwide recruitment campaign. "We really went all out," Cervenka said, "especially in contacting our alum- ni." Art school students protest in front = cuts to the School of Art. *'U'been set to recommend to the regents a 6 percent in-state tuition increase ,,and the same 8 percent out-of-state tuition increase before the state began applying pressure. Frye said the University is paying 'for the tuition freeze by incurring a $1.9 million deficit this year, and by making cuts in building repairs and equipment purchases tentatively Doily Photo of the Art Museum against budget to state, freezes in-state tuition budgeted. Administrators say that the tuition increases are the result of a com- bination of sharply rising costs and a backlog of needs resulting from a drought of state approriations in the mid-70s and early 80s. "MUCH OF OUR costs are needed to catch up with our own history," Frye said, explaining that state aid in 1975 covered 60.7 percent of the University's operating expenses but only 47.5 percent in 1983. After three years of funding increases, state sup- port now covers about 50 percent of the operating expenses. One of the administration's main priorities Frye said, is to catch up on faculty salary increases. Between 1975 and 1983, Frye said faculty pay increases fell 8 percent behind private universities and 5 percent behind its peer public universities. So the University this year has set aside $1 million in addition to its usual five percent increase for inflation for raises in faculty salaries. The raises, however, will be made on a merit basis only. The regents also spoke of the need to discover and tap new sources of funding other than state ap- propriations which.are unreliable and increasing student fees which are un- desirable. t-shirts " trash cans " glassware jackets flags * mugs * prints music boxes * sweatshirts " hats baby bottles ! buttons * clocks Sweaters * blankets * stickers acks o frisbees * neck ties use plates " pens " pencils amps *lighters* and much more 5YEARS MORE THAN A BOOKSTORE Main Store: 549 East University Electronics Showroom: 1110 South University Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (313)662-3201 y Arson suspect cleared Continued from Page 1) he had been accepted to. the Univer- sity's law school and to law schools at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale. He was reached in Philadelphia, where he said he would determine this week which of the three law schools he would enter this fall. Picozzi and his lawyers vowed to continue to fight for damages in federal court. "Picozzi missed two years of law school besides the other traumas associated with being disenrolled from the University," said Mark Gombiner, a lawyer who represented Picozzi. But John Bredell, one of two attor- neys who represented the University, said Picozzi "doesn't have a prayer of getting a cent from the dean. Trying to say that doing your job is worth $9 million in preposterous." Bredell said University officials were disappointed with Guenzel's decision. "We still believe that Picozzi set the fire," he said. "I think the hearing officer didn't decide who set the fire. He decided that we didn't meet the burden of proof." In his decision, Guenzel wrote that "neither the Ann Arbor nor the University officials acted im- properly" and disagreed with Picoz- zi's argument that both parties displayed "subtle prejudice" against him. You're onvourway. Choose a small refrigerator fo G RATOR LSELECT THE SIZE THAT SUITS YOUR TASTES I 1 . 4 4 . can be Going to college is one thing. 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