Budget cuts in Language Department affect students’ ability to take foreign language classes

Southeast Missouri State University is part of an organization known as the Missouri Language Consortium. The agreement states faculty from five Missouri universities will work together to provide distance education to upper-division French and German students.

The classes will cycle between the universities, and students will enroll and pay their own university, even if the classes are taught at one of the other schools.

The agreement is between the University of Central Missouri, Missouri Southern State University, Missouri State University, Southeast Missouri State University and Missouri Western University.

Lesli Pace, chair of the Communication Studies and Modern Languages Department, said the consortium is helpful for students because it allows them to finish their major and minor requirements.

“If we are only able to offer four upper-division courses, but they need six, it makes it possible for them to take those classes and finish up that degree instead of waiting for another rotation of courses here,” Pace said. “Or, if it’s a course we don’t offer, but the consortium does, then they can take it when they wouldn’t have the opportunity to take otherwise.”

Sophomore French minor Dominica Bowles said while she was excited to continue her French education, a consortium class is not the same as a class on SEMO’s campus.

“I’m still able to learn the language and culture, and I’m grateful, but it’s not the same,” Bowles said. “I miss having a professor to actually talk to in person, especially with it being a foreign language course.”

Recent budget cuts within the department have affected SEMO’s ability to participate in the consortium. Each school in the consortium is required to teach at least one class a year to remain a member. SEMO has not had a full-time instructor in French and German since August 2021, so they have not been able to contribute to the consortium since Spring 2021.

Pace said it has been challenging, because SEMO has taught French classes for the consortium on SEMO’s campus for many years.

“Without a full-time faculty member, we couldn’t continue to teach those French classes,’’ Pace said. “That’s one of the reasons why we’re going to be offering a Chinese class, because it gives us a way to be able to contribute back, so our students can keep taking classes in French and in German.”

With the addition of Chinese language classes, SEMO will be able to remain a contributing member of the consortium.

Senior Spanish and French major Kendall Tracey said the budget cuts won’t affect her very much, because she is graduating this semester, but she can see how it would affect other students.

“They already got rid of a lot of majors associated with the Foreign Language Department like the secondary education options for French and German,” Tracey said. “They cut those programs, so to be able to teach them out through the consortium is a really good thing.”

The consortium allowed and will continue to allow SEMO students to take consortium French and German classes despite the budget cuts suffered by the department.