Columbia College confirmed on Thursday that it is permanently increasing its first year class size by 50, and administrators said they are working now to address the needs of a larger student body.
For the class of 2013, Columbia College accepted 50 more first year students than it had in prior years, to create a class of roughly 1070 students, up from the previous norm of around 1020.
And according to Kevin Shollenberger, the dean of student affairs, this increased class size will become the new standard, resulting in 200 more students entering the College over four years. The School of Engineering and Applied Science will not see any increases.
The University wanted to ensure that the change in class size would not be problematic for students, Shollenberger said, adding that the decision was expedited because of the economy. Now, he confirmed, they “are going to go forward with their plan” to make this size permanent.
Administrators did not comment on the specifics of the financial changes surrounding this increase. Michele Moody-Adams, the dean of Columbia College, said in an interview on Thursday morning of the financial implications, “It depends. It’s a very complicated calculus. It depends on who is in the class, what level of need they have or don’t have.”
Kathryn Yatrakis, the dean of academic affairs, said of the University’s finances, “I think we are faring better than some other universities but we have not escaped the economic situation.” She added that the University was able to go forward with certain hirings while other peer institutions entirely halted.
With the increase, administrators said they are currently discussing appropriate ways to address changing needs in housing, advising, and academics.
Moody-Adams said, “We are taking really seriously the need to do everything we can to ensure the quality of student experience.”
She said the University’s plan to decrease the ratio of advisors to students would not be affected.
Yatrakis also said that they are committed to the 22 student limit per Core class. To accommodate the class of 2013, she said they added three sections of Literature Humanities and two sections of Art Humanities. They also raised the cap of 12 students for University Writing courses to 14, although Yatrakis said that only one section had 14 students this year while the average was 13.
Despite next year’s large sophomore class, Yatrakis said that they do not think at this point that they need to increase the number of sections of Contemporary Civilization. “We think there is enough spaces to accommodate individually one [student] per section, but we are going to monitor this very carefully,” she said. The University has tried to monitor what courses sophomores tend to take, which Yatrakis described as “very difficult.”
She also discussed the need to “start migrating class schedules” to less normal times to create more possible classes for students to take. Right now, since classes are usually held only at certain times, class space quickly becomes an issue. “One of our biggest challenges has less to do with the actual size of the incoming class but how much space we have to offer the courses that they take,” Moody-Adams said.
According to Shollenberger, financial aid will remain unaffected by the new class size.
Scott Wright, vice president of student auxiliary and business services, said that to accommodate the second wave of additional students, the University will work on three major housing projects over the summer.
In Harmony Hall, a space that was previously a superintendent’s apartment, will be converted into undergraduate housing, which will generate room for five students.
In Ruggles, seven singles will become doubles, adding seven new beds to the building. He said the change would be “consistent throughout,” by changing one single in seven different suites.
And the largest change is in McBain, where the University will be “converting and moving some walls in McBain” to create 20 extra beds. For example, he said, two 300-square feet rooms will become three 200-square feet spaces. Additionally, some singles will be turned into doubles. Ultimately, McBain will have relatively few singles.
It is uncertain whether these new spaces will be included in room selection, Wright said, adding, “It may be assigned space later.”
With around 60 empty beds at the start of fall semester this year, and the 32 additional beds from renovations, “We believe we will have plenty to accommodate the now two year additional student base,” Wright said. Wright also said that seniors and juniors who want singles will still be able to get them.
But some students still expressed concern. Shana Yearwood, CC ‘11, questioned the decision to add more students to an already crowded University.
“I feel like they’re cramped for space as it is. ... I just feel bad for the freshmen who’ll be crammed into doubles that used to be singles,” Yearwood said.
Last year, for the class of 2013, Housing Services converted Harmony Hall to undergraduate housing. In regards to the fourth year of additional students, Wright said that it is “a little bit far in advance” to discuss the changes. “Every year there are changes to the number of living spaces Columbia is working with,” Wright said, adding “I don’t know right now what the best options will be.”
Other students said they were happy about the change. “That’s great,” said Noam Prywes CC ‘10, who said he wasn’t worried about crowding in houses or dorms, or resources being stretched thin.
“Maybe this’ll make our acceptance more reasonable.”
Leah Greenbaum contributed reporting.
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