OSU plans to cut Italian language classes

From the Gazette-Times:

Italian and other foreign language courses are popular at OSU and many have waiting lists, said Brad Dennis, the chief business officer for the College of Liberal Arts, which includes foreign languages.

Classes with high demand might be cut, Dennis said, because in the university’s budget model, tuition dollars don’t flow directly to the courses that students take.

“This is so ridiculous. It shouldn’t have to be this way. That’s the whole frustration,” Dennis said. “There is a total disconnect (between) where the students want to take classes and where the budget is to support it.”

Mark McCambridge, university vice president of finance and administration, said the university budget model is complicated, because there are expensive classes, such as science courses, and inexpensive courses, such as physical fitness classes. He added that most other departments have been able to operate within plan.

“They’re cutting the little people is what it is,” said Courtney Lindstrom, a junior majoring in public health management.

Methinks there's something wrong with the funding model.

Don't get me wrong - I don't think every class should turn a 'profit'. That would be problematic for a whole host of reasons. But I do think that if OSU is cutting things with waiting lists, things that are needed to graduate, then, frankly, the model is broken.

Also of note: McCambridge's comment is a useless non-sequitur. It explains or justifies nothing. In other words, it's typical McCambridge.

Maybe in my free time I'll look at the Resource Allocation Model used by OSU and see if I can figured it out. I've heard for a long time it's biased away from the liberal arts.

Free time. Right.

Also: Kyle Odegard had two stories in today's issue. That's some kind of record, right?