Thursday afternoon, Ashland University held it’s first-ever student speak-up in the student center auditorium with all of the AU campus deans, including the Dean of the college of arts and sciences, Dawn Weber, the Dean of the college of business and economics, Elad Granot, the Dean of the college of education, Donna Breault, and the Dean of the college of nursing, Faye Grund.

For one hour, AU students had the opportunity to ask questions and relay their concerns to the administration regarding everything from academic departments, courses, and more.

Various topics were covered throughout the speak-up, including whether or not nursing students would be reimbursed for their daily travels to complete their nursing school clinicals, if the social work major would eventually include a minor, and if the AU choir and the AU marching band would ever change their standard one-credit hour activities to be worth more.   

Additionally, concern was also expressed regarding what is being done to ensure that AU’s class sizes remain small, why students are having to pay a higher technology fee in order to enroll in online courses, and whether or not the university has any plans to replace not just the cut faculty, but also those deceased or retired.  

The university prides themselves on providing enriching and unique, hands-on experiences for students, which extend beyond just the classroom. Currently, the university does not have the financial means to reimburse all AU nursing students for their travels, but do encourage carpooling as a way of saving money when driving to and from their clinicals.

Regarding the social work minor, Weber acknowledged that she “has not yet been approached” about the subject, although in the future, she is hopeful to see the growth of the program expand significantly by welcoming recruited students.

With the AU choir and marching band both offering one-credit hour courses, it was suggested by junior Ian Kieffer, when he spoke to the administration about what he believes needs to be done in order to get the appropriate amount of credits as efficiently as possible.

“You have to have six aesthetic credits, so to get three of those credits- which is the maximum [number] you can get for being in choir- instead of doing just a year and a half, do a full year, so you can get a credit and a half,” Kieffer said.

The administration will take these recommendations to the department of music for the future.

It was discussed how in the past, classes have been “team-taught” by two faculty members instead of just one. Weber explained, “in the core, we have tried to keep the courses smaller, for as long as I can remember, because of the writing intensity of those courses,” she said. Currently, there is an emphasis placed on one-on-one individualized attention and open dialogue between the professor and the student.

For students interested in taking online courses, they are required to pay an extra $15 per credit hour, which is due to a technology fee. It was reported that it is for the hybrid classes only, and it is because various “instructional designers for these courses were hired, that the cost needed to be offset,” according to Grund.

Weber elaborated on the university’s plan to hire new faculty members and whether or not this is a definite possibility.

“We will be moving forward from this year, and there are other requests for positions that we are in conversation with the provost about,” she said.