Budget cuts have created a lot of changes over the years in some of the colleges at UT. The School of Journalism and Electronic Media, in the College of Communication and Information, for example, has had to make adjustments to its programs to accommodate these budget cuts.

The journalism school requires students to take a series of courses within a specific media field, such as magazine, newspaper and broadcast. Courses within these fields often have prerequisite courses which allow students to move forward to any upper level course. Courses such as JEM 200 and and JEM 275 are main prerequisite courses that are often taught in one section resulting in a larger class size.

Some students experience difficulties getting into some of these courses because of the lack of section offerings. JEM 200 is supported by general education money from the university, and the cutbacks necessitated dropping two of the 13 lab sections for this course.

More than any time before, the involvement of alumni in the future of the university will be key to its success.
Peter Gross, director of the School of Journalism and Electronic Media

"JEM 275 is a large lecture class and we do not have the financial means to hire additional lecturers to add other sections," Peter Gross, director of the School of Journalism and Electronic Media, said.

This is a similar case for other colleges at UT where, because of budget cuts and lack of funding for more teachers, students are not provided the additional class options they need to graduate on time. Despite these budget cuts, the school is working to create a more efficient practical learning experience for students.

"I would like for us to offer a course that would give students the opportunity to be more technically adept. I would also like for us to be able to offer more specialized courses in journalism history and law,"  said Jim Stovall, JEM professor.

How much longer do students have to wait for ideas such as this to go into effect? Does the school need to resort to tuition increases in order to receive a broader range of faculty and class of ferings? Are students missing out on what they need academically? 

These questions rise every year as more students register for courses, unsure whether they will get into the prerequisites or other general JEM courses. The answers seem to be based off alumni involvement.

"More than any time before, the involvement of alumni in the future of the university will be key to its success," Gross said. He also mentioned that students need to plan their program so that key classes are not left to be taken during their final year.

With most of the JEM classes impacted, the alternatives are few, if any. Students are encouraged to meet with advisors on a regular basis.

Budget and tuition increase are not going to cease at UT. This has already become the case for the College of Nursing, the College of Business Administration and the College of Engineering, whose supposed tuition increase per credit hour may go into effect in fall 2010. 

"UT is about education, so I don't think it's on the back burner. UT also doesn't control the funding it gets from the state," Stovall said regarding his hopes for future course offerings.