Dear Commons Community,
The Chronicle of Higher Education has an article (subscription required) describing initiatives that administrators of doctoral programs are taking that provide more funding to students while at the same time reducing enrollments. The article specifically mentions Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, and the CUNY Graduate Center. Here is an excerpt:
“Katherine S. Newman, dean of the Krieger school, says its limited finances meant that it had to make a tough call: “Take in fewer students, so we could support them at the robust levels that they need to be fully devoted to their research year-round and be competitive in an unprecedented job market.”
Other institutions have made similar choices. In response to the economic downturn, Columbia University cut its incoming cohort of graduate students in 2009 by 10 percent across its programs. Columbia had planned to return its graduate-student enrollment to prerecession levels once the economy turned around, but officials decided otherwise. The university instead increased the financial-aid packages that graduate students receive, which put the support in line with peers’ offers.
Elsewhere, the Graduate Center at the City University of New York has said that it would cut enrollment across its graduate programs by one-fourth by 2015, so that it could put more money toward helping Ph.D. students succeed through higher stipends and other assistance.”
The article goes on to describe that there was a good deal of faculty and student resistance to the “take in fewer students – provide more funding” proposal at Johns Hopkins. The opposite was true here at the CUNY Graduate Center with general acceptance of the policy when it was announced two years ago by then President Bill Kelly.
My own opinion is that most administrators of doctoral programs would like to see their programs grow AND provide more funding to support their students. However, fiscal realities combined with a shrinking job market for doctoral students, provides a good rational for reducing enrollments at this time.
Tony
