Entering the current semester, I was finally excited about my classes. I had waded through the interdisciplinary madness of the core curriculum through the first year and a half of my college experience and was finally starting my major, which hadn't changed since before freshman year. Upon going into my first English major class, however, I was shocked to see a classroom packed with over 30 students. I had already been mystified by the lack of choices from the English department, but I had assumed that this was due to there being a limited number of English majors at Rose Hill. Both my freshman English core classes had only about 15 students each, and I could not imagine that actual major classes would have more students than the core classes. How very wrong I was.
According to Fordham's website, the student/faculty ratio is 11.9 to 1, and the average class size is just 22 students. However, any English, communications or political science major will tell you that the only way their class will have just 22 students is if the class is held at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and if the professor assigns both the U.S. Tax Code and War and Peace as required reading. Most of the classes in those common Fordham majors have upwards of 30 students in them.
It is of course expected and understandable for any university trying to do business in the modern competitive landscape to twist the numbers in its attempts to attract applicants. The administration would probably argue that the numbers are skewed by the science departments, especially physics, which has roughly six students per class because there are only six physics majors in the school. I don't have a problem with that. There are bound to be some majors with smaller class sizes and others with larger class sizes.
However, the case for the liberal arts majors is more complicated and perhaps unfair. Doctor Susan Greenfield, one of the most popular teachers in the English department, is teaching three classes this semester - Early English Novels and two freshman Close Reading/Critical Writing classes. Her major class closed with 35 students very early in the registration process, and two more students registered after, bringing the total to 37. Presumably, Professor Greenfield's freshman core classes have fewer than 20 students. This is university policy. The administration wants to ensure that all students receive basic training in writing.
2008 Woodie Awards
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