Higher minimum class size won’t cause cancellations at NSCAD

Minimum of 10 students needed per course: NSCAD

Budget restraints have prompted the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design to double the minimum number of students in many of its classes. However,  the school's administration believes the change will not cause any increase in course cancellations.

The school has raised the number of students per course from five to ten, a move Becky Welter-Nolan, president of the student union, says is caused by the school's troubled financial situation.

"The school has been in financial trouble for several years, and there are a lot of cuts being made," Welter-Nolan says.

With annual expenditures of $13 million, according to the Association of Atlantic Universities, NSCAD has the second-smallest operating budget in the province. Even so, Welter-Nolan says the school is unable to afford instructors for courses with fewer than ten students enrolled.

"We are not going to try to get the school to hold classes that can't be paid for," she says. "If people are not in a class, there is just not enough funding from tuition and the province to pay the instructors."

Despite raising the minimum limit, John Mabley, NSCAD's vice president of university relations, says there has not been a rise in course cancellations.

"It's just not a hotly-contested subject right now," he says. "Some classes would always have been cancelled because enrolment was inadequate, but I am unaware that there has been any increase in cancellations."

While understanding of the school's budgetary constraints, Welter-Nolan is concerned many students don't register on time and don't know enough about class content when deciding what courses to take.

With the raised minimum, late registration could mean some classes are cancelled even though there is sufficient interest.

"We're hoping to re-start faculty meet-and-greets so that students can meet their instructors and talk about the content of their classes," she says. "This would allow students to be more informed, and hopefully make sure they choose the right classes, and on time."

Mabley believes the meet-and-greets are a good idea, but says students at the school have other options, including using social media sites to get opinions on courses.

"Students are seeking out and getting opinions on courses online," he says. "So what Becky is seeking formally is happening informally through social media.

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