2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Opinion
Don't lie about student/faculty ratio
"Personal, 13:1 Student/Faculty Ratio," is the first image that pops up on the Pacific home page. It is a clever tool designed specifically to give the wrong impression to the students and recruits of Pacific.
I made the poor assumption that 13:1 was the student to professor ratio that I would be have in my classes. This personal touch of an intimate education and getting to know your professor was one of the most powerful attractions of the university for me.
The fall semester offers few classes which even closely resemble the 13: 1 ratio. The upcoming Intro to Psychology course has a current enrollment of 112 people, a 22:1 ratio.
I'm proud and excited that the university wants to grow and continue to share the excellent education that it's given to me. I cannot, however, condone the methodologies employed of drawing students to the university on false pretenses. This method not only reflects poorly on the university as a whole but on the professors and the students that are proud to be here.
Our mission statement begins: "The College of Arts and Sciences, through effective teaching built on close faculty/student relationships […]" It is a privilege and a responsibility to uphold the promises made to all of our members in this statement. Above all Pacific University must fulfill its mission.
Samuel Lambert
Pacific losing its personal feel
As a student of this great university, I can truly say that I have loved my time here. But I fear the Pacific that I've come to love is slowly disappearing.
With increasing tuition and class sizes, I ask, "When did Pacific stop being a haven for those who wish to learn, and start becoming a business?"
It seems like yesterday when I came to this school and was greeted with friendly resident assistants. Now with the advent of Burlingham hall I have seen freshmen without an RA or a sense of camaraderie with their fellow classmates.
"Personal, 13:1 Student/Faculty Ratio," is the first image that pops up on the Pacific home page. It is a clever tool designed specifically to give the wrong impression to the students and recruits of Pacific.
I made the poor assumption that 13:1 was the student to professor ratio that I would be have in my classes. This personal touch of an intimate education and getting to know your professor was one of the most powerful attractions of the university for me.
The fall semester offers few classes which even closely resemble the 13: 1 ratio. The upcoming Intro to Psychology course has a current enrollment of 112 people, a 22:1 ratio.
I'm proud and excited that the university wants to grow and continue to share the excellent education that it's given to me. I cannot, however, condone the methodologies employed of drawing students to the university on false pretenses. This method not only reflects poorly on the university as a whole but on the professors and the students that are proud to be here.
Our mission statement begins: "The College of Arts and Sciences, through effective teaching built on close faculty/student relationships […]" It is a privilege and a responsibility to uphold the promises made to all of our members in this statement. Above all Pacific University must fulfill its mission.
Samuel Lambert
Pacific losing its personal feel
As a student of this great university, I can truly say that I have loved my time here. But I fear the Pacific that I've come to love is slowly disappearing.
With increasing tuition and class sizes, I ask, "When did Pacific stop being a haven for those who wish to learn, and start becoming a business?"
It seems like yesterday when I came to this school and was greeted with friendly resident assistants. Now with the advent of Burlingham hall I have seen freshmen without an RA or a sense of camaraderie with their fellow classmates.
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A soon to be graduate
posted 5/12/08 @ 12:36 PM PST
I couldn't agree more with these two letters about Pacific losing its personal feel. In the last four years of my studies here, I have seen Pacific make a fairly fast transition from a very welcoming academic community to a money-hungry business that throws up new facilities left and right without stopping to consider the implications of such aggressive expansion. (Continued…)
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