200 more students - impact on housing and dining?

Corbett
Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:52:35 +0000

Every LAC is going to face different concerns going forward as budget cuts are implemented. For Amherst, particular concerns might be as follows:

(1) Concerns about student-faculty ratio. The expansion of the student body by ~10% will apparently not be accompanied by a corresponding expansion of faculty, at least not for a while. It seems very possible that Amherst’s current 8:1 student faculty ratio (as per US News) may shift to 9:1, at least temporarily. Of course, this would still be a very respectable figure by LAC standards; however, it might not be at the top.

(2) Concerns about sciences. Enrollments and faculty numbers are relatively low, and the science center is old and in poor shape (the budget report notes that “systems in Merrill are failing and that renovation or replacement of the building may be necessary.”). Other top LACs updated their science facilities during the boom years; Amherst missed that opportunity, and it’s not clear when the next opportunity will arise. Again, sciences may still be very respectable by LAC standards, but they may not be at the top.