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March 02, 2022
Vol. 121 NO. 8
Fall enrollment projections spark concerns over NTT faculty job security; Wohlpart says ‘too soon’ to know By Katherine Camarata Senior Reporter Early projections for fall 2022 budget and enrollment have caused concern among faculty, staff and department chairs over the future of many Non-Tenure Track (NTT) faculty positions across the university. Multiple sources told The Observer they were worried they could lose anywhere from 10-50% of NTT positions in various departments, with one-third being the most common figure reported. In an interview on Feb. 23, Wohlpart said: “When I have talked to deans and department heads, I said it’s too soon for you to know how many NTT faculty you’re going to need or not. Our adjunct faculty are mostly general education courses, mostly freshmen and sophomores. We don’t know exactly how many NTT faculty we are going to hire until we have the freshmen.” Nonetheless, comments from faculty and staff across campus reflected a wave of concern. The Observer reached out to 10 department chairs, three deans, three NTT faculty members and representatives of the Faculty Senate, the Academic Department Chairs Organization (ADCO) and the Provost’s Office.
In addition to President Wohlpart and Provost Michelle DenBeste, sources from six different departments were willing to comment for this story. All of them asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity and timeliness of the topic. Several sources said they want to give Wohlpart, who is in his first year at CWU, a chance to be transparent on the issue and handle the changes as compassionately as possible. Wohlpart, DenBeste and two other people interviewed suggested enrollment numbers could improve between now and spring. One department chair said their department was not expecting any staff changes. “We have not really ever done enrollment projections for freshmen in January and February,” Wohlpart said. “We’re doing things way earlier than we have in the past and these numbers are very tentative.” He said he expects to have a better sense of fall freshmen enrollment by May or June, at which time students sign up for orientation and commit to housing. “If the numbers get pushed out there and they’re all wrong and the message gets sent that our enrollment is going to be down, it becomes this self-fulfilling prophecy. That’s why I’ve been very careful
when I’ve shared the numbers,” Wohlpart said. According to Wohlpart, “Our primary focus has been on increasing our enrollment so that we can keep all of our faculty and staff. I really don’t expect to see large decreases in any of our numbers.” On March 1, he said, “Next week, we’ll have a new projection and new budget. So all of this is going to change by next week.” Faculty Concerns One department chair said: “The department chairs have been told to be prepared for a smaller freshmen class. These are tough times for CWU, and we have been told to not hire back faculty next year. Our NTT faculty, some who have been at CWU for many years, will be the first to experience these drastic reductions.” “Ellensburg is a small community and the impact of losing so many faculty all at once won’t go unnoticed,” the department chair added. “It could hurt the local economy and even challenge the trust between the school and community. I know we can do a better job as a university by addressing these cuts early and with clarity while also showing respect and compassion for our colleagues. The NTT faculty bring diversity to the university and
Photo Courtesy of CWU Flickr.
specialized value to the courses they teach.” An administrative staff member said: “Classes are not filling as they used to, and classes with low enrollments are at risk for cancellation. Low enrollments could be a result of the pandemic, shifting social and cultural changes, student debt worries and more. Our NTT faculty are concerned that if enough classes don’t fill, they may not have a job to come back to in the fall.” Another department chair said: “I am doing what I can to protect NTT faculty in our department. We value them, and our students do too. The budget is based on enrollment predictions, which is factored in with the reduction in the number of students we have had over the past two years. These are driving decisions about the need to reduce the number of classes and be strategic with offerings for students to be able to graduate in a timely manner. I am telling faculty that I cannot guarantee them the same class schedules that they have had in the past.” An NTT faculty member said: “If it’s correct that the deans have the budgets, I think demonstrating care and respect and value to the NTTs would move that communication down through the department chairs and to faculty quickly. We hope CWU will consider the best interest of NTTs in matters of timing and communication. I’m a former administrator, there’s an administrative responsibility to have a secure budgeting process and a transparent one and I think this is what is being done here.” “In the past, the university has had the best interest of the university in mind. Now, please, have the best interest of the NTTs in mind at the same time. I think if they do, that will send a very powerful statement to the NTTs, those that are not rehired and those that are rehired, because the way they do this might have a chilling effect on the NTTs that stay.”
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Commencement back in person By Sean Bessette Editor-in-Chief All graduating seniors will get the in-person commencement experience this year. Director of Executive Events and Protocol Lauren Zeutenhorst confirmed that in-person commencement is set to take place this June for the first time since 2019. “We are feeling very good about this and think that we have all of our bases covered to make sure this happens, barring anything major, of course,” Zeutenhorst said. The previous two commencements have happened virtually, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Commencement for graduates in the College of Business and the College of Education and Professional Studies will take place on June 11 at 9:30 a.m. Graduates in the College of Arts and Humanities and the College of the Sciences will have their commencement at 2 p.m. on June 11. Those dates and times are tentative and could change. The full tentative schedule, with information for graduates of CWU’s university centers, can be found at cwu.edu/commencement.