The spring 2010 Music Foreign Study Program in London has been cancelled for the first time in the program's 20-year history, according to according to Sally Pinkas, the music professor who was slated to lead the program. The program was cut due to low enrollment, as only five students had enrolled in the program three short of the required eight students, Pinkas said.
The 2011 Music FSP is scheduled to continue as normal, she said.
"We never had such a small group enroll in this FSP before," Pinkas said. "As far as I know of, the lowest enrollment number before this year was 12."
Pinkas said that most FSPs are seeing lower enrollment this year than in years past. Economic concerns may be contributing to this low enrollment, Pinkas said, pointing to the expense of living in London.
The small number of students would have affected the academic quality of the program, according to John Tansey, the executive director of Off-Campus Programs. Administrators and professors therefore questioned whether the program would be an effective use of resources, he said.
"[Pinkas] implied that, especially in such an economy, it is harder to justify having such a small group go when the money could be spent on another program that can benefit more [people]," Lelia TahaBurt '11, who was enrolled in the program, said in an interview.
The decision to cancel the program was made by Tansey in conjunction with Lindsay Whaley, the associate dean of the faculty for international and interdisciplinary programs, and representatives from the music department, Tansey said.
Students enrolled in the program were notified about the cancellation on Thursday morning, Tansey said. The Office of Off-Campus Programs, the music department and the Dean of the College's office are now helping the affected students to adjust their academic plans, he said.
TahaBurt said she is still trying to find another music-related off-campus program to replace the Music FSP.
"I was told that they could have kept the program open and waited for more students to enroll, but they didn't because they didn't want us to actually get stuck," TahaBurt said. "I appreciate them notifying us two terms in advance."
Michael Casey, chair of the music department, told The Dartmouth in an e-mail that the first London FSP started in 1986 with 16 students and one professor. The FSP first began as a biennial program, but has occurred on an annual basis for more than 10 years, he said.
