Ms. Bagwell, thanks for taking the time to come on this board and explain to us the university's vantage point in this matter. I have one question, and it is this: you said something about students knowing at least six months in advance that they may not move on to the next year. Do you mean that in a general sense, as in "students who come to U of Arizona know that they have to pass muster at the end of every year to continue on to the next," or did you mean that students whose places were in jeopardy (in other words, those whose professors had decided that, for one reason or another, they were not achieving at the expected level) were taken aside and told that they were on a sort of probation?
In any case, this anecdote serves to remind students considering BFA programs (and their parents) that universities with cut systems do, indeed, act on those policies. People get cut. Those who are not willing to risk it perhaps should enroll at schools that don't have such a system in place.
Of course, that doesn't mitigate the heartbreak involved. So sad for all.
I can't imagine how I would feel if this were me, or my child. (I think that the professors and administrators involved also felt awful.)