By Tara Conry

An outdated New College may find itself restructured and revitalized in response to poor enrollment. On Nov. 17, Herman Berliner, provost and vice president of academic affairs, met with the faculty of New College to discuss measures to “lovingly update” the current format.

Berliner said, “New College has a proud tradition at the University, but tradition has preserved built-in barriers,” which now threaten the viability of the interdisciplinary program.

Currently New College is not a full participant in the University bulletin and does not follow the class schedule and procedures of the rest of the University, such as filing student degree audit reports.

“New College has prided itself on being totally separate, but in order to survive it should compliment the rest of the University,” Berliner added.

New College classes meet Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday, conflicting with classes offered by other schools throughout the University, which are usually held Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Tuesday and Thursday.

“There is no logic to this format,” Berliner said. Therefore, faculty have proposed adopting a schedule that would be more convenient for New College students seeking to enroll in classes offered by other schools on campus.

The main problem with New College is it no longer connects with the interests of the students, Berliner said, noting that only 21 of the 1,800 entering freshman are enrolled in New College.

“Hofsta doesn’t advertise New College, because it doesn’t value it at as much as the other colleges that attract a large number of prospective students,” said Caitlin Abber, a junior Social Sciences major at New College.

Berliner said, “We promoted New College very prominently,” noting a former student who spoke highly of his experience in the school to prospective students at last year’s Open House. However, Abber and her fellow students said they enrolled in New College after learning about it from friends and do not recall the University advocating the school at the open houses they attended.

When New College began in the 1960s, it was a one-year program. It evolved into a four-year college as its popularity increased and students needed more time to complete the school’s requirements for graduation. However, Berliner said the college has failed to adapt to changes in technology, society and the job market, diminishing its appeal among students and questioning the value of interdisciplinary education at the University.

“The provost has only met with the faculty at this point, but the plans will mostly affect our administration, which is the heart of New College,” she said.

“We met with Admissions last year to promote New College, but they still do not inform the high schools about the us and we need more publicity,” one New College professor who wished to remain anonymous, said. She continues to travel to different high schools to endorse the interdisciplinary education program.

“It’s frustrating because a bunch of us were lucky enough to stumble across New College, said Liza Shortman, a senior Interdisciplinary Studies major. She recalled that she did not receive a significant amount of information regarding the program at her orientation in 2001.

The students have tried to increase New College’s presence on campus by proposing to start a literary magazine and build a homecoming float, but were told the University would not provide the funds.

“I understand that the administration [of New College] is responsible for advertising, but the University should provide more support,” Shortman said.

Among the proposals presented by the ad-hoc committee of faculty members, were to introduce more technology into the classrooms, encourage more international experiences and offer internships to students within New College.

“There is a place for interdisciplinary education,” Berliner said, noting the success of similar institutions such as New Century College at George Mason University with an enrollment of 900 students. New Century operates within George Mason’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and may serve as a model for the restructured New College.

“We shouldn’t strive to be someone else,” Berliner said. “We should learn from the changes made at other universities to make New College the best it can be.”

By integrating New College with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (HCLAS), it would continue to promote an interdisciplinary approach with a small, personalized and broad selection of majors, while boosting enrollment. The new format would eliminate the boundaries and conflicts that impede New College students from participating in classes offered elsewhere on campus and encourage HCLAS students to enroll in classes formerly exclusive to those in New College.

The proposals to reform New College have raised concern among New College faculty and students who fear the administration will terminate their beloved interdisciplinary education. Members of New College have conducted “teach-ins” to protest the possible termination and demonstrate the unique and effective ways the school promotes learning. For weeks, they decorated the walls of New College with flyers proclaiming: “By this time next year you could be a Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Science students and New College would be closed and all your favorite professors out of work.”

“We never said the college would be terminated,” Vice Provost Liora Schmulkin, who was unaware of the origin of the rumors, said. Schmulkin also stated the jobs of the faculty of New College are not in jeopardy.

Berliner has received letters and phone calls from parents and students worried about the circulating rumors. He assured them the plans would not call for termination of New College, but would actually benefit it.

“The language being used at these meetings is deceptive,” Bill Flynn, a senior Interdisciplinary Studies major, said. “When they talk about assimilating New College into HCLAS they will probably consider some of the faculty redundant.” Flynn added that the general consensus among students is that they are waiting for the decisions of the administration, but will remain steadfast in their efforts to preserve the character of New College.

Students currently enrolled in New College would continue to follow the current format and would receive a diploma from the school. Berliner and Schmulkin have met with some students who have raised their concerns about their future at the University and plan to hold informational meetings with the rest of New College students to quell the rumors.

Similar issues and negotiations were necessary when the University converted its Honors program into an independent Honors College. The Web site for Honors College says, “The flexibility of the HUHC program permits students to choose any of Hofstra’s 130 majors and to graduate in the normal time, with both a bachelor’s degree and Honors College designation.”

Berliner said Honors College endured many changes to develop an effective structure that now accommodates approximately 700 students. Berliner hopes after New College is given a fresh face, its enrollment will rise to approximately 400 students.

The faculty and deans of New College and HCLAS will meet with Berliner over the next week and a letter of recommendation will be sent to President Stuart Rabinowitz. While the curriculum will take longer to reconstruct, Berliner hopes some changes, such as scheduling, will be implemented immediately.