Space an issue at ULV

According to the Office of Institutional Research, as of Dec. 31, 2001, the University of La Verne has experienced a 44 percent increase in student enrollment since 1989. ULV is growing in popularity among high school seniors in Southern California. Its diversity of programs attract these students onto our campus, but the University fails to provide them with adequate accommodations.

The problem is, that although our enrollment numbers are multiplying, our facilities are not keeping up. We are growing in numbers, but ceasing to take into consideration the space that we inhabit.

Every year is a new challenge for housing. They have to come up with ways to house the number of people that are admitted into ULV. In past years, the Office of Housing and Residential Life has been forced to move students to somewhat remote locations in San Dimas, Claremont and Pomona where students live in hotels, which costs more than living on campus. This living situation is not realistic nor desirable for incoming freshmen and undergraduate students, who decided to live on campus to avoid commuting. Students are applying for on campus housing only to find out that is not what they are getting.

In 1998, according to the office of admissions, the University admitted 456 students, the largest number of incoming students to date. This was a jump of 119 students from 1997. 1999 was another record year with 453 incoming students. Since then, the actual number of students admitted into the University has gone down. However, in 2002, there were 425 students admitted into the University, a decline of only 31 students from the largest number ever recorded.

Why, then, does the University fail to provide enough space for them?

In fall 2000, students saw a new addition to campus. Portable buildings located on the grass area between the Hoover Building and Woody Hall. The Hoover Annex, which was erected for classes that were held in the old law school necessary because of the Hoover Building renovation, stayed until the two-year conditional use permit expired.

Classroom space is limited at ULV, so limited, in fact, that we actually were having classes in muggy middle school portables, even after the Hoover Building was completed. This proves the fact that a more permanent solution is needed.

One of the great benefits to a small school like ULV is the student to teacher ratio. According to the Dec. 2001 report, the student teacher ratio was 11:1, which is still a relatively small number of students to professors. However, when it comes time to register, the number of classes is limited due to our small faculty. Students find that Core classes, which teachers voluntarily decide to teach on top of their normal course load, closed due to the small number of professors who have the time to commit to teaching a Core class. If we have more professors to accommodate our growing institution, students would find it easier to graduate in four years.

This is not to mention the overload that professors take on. We are lucky to have exceptional professors at this institution who care about their students. But due to their teaching overloads, the quality of our education diminishes.

One solution would be to hire more professors. We are a growing institution, and with growth comes expansion in all areas, especially personnel, which is the basis of what an educational institution rests upon.

We as students, need to be able to expand our minds in a space that is expandable. A growing institution like La Verne needs growing facilities.