New York University announced last month it was suspending admissions to its undergraduate music education program, Inside Higher Ed reports, and students were shocked.
They weren't worried about whether they'd still be able to graduate, they were worried about their own development as music educators.
The department relies on a mentorship model, in which older students direct younger students in bands, choirs, and orchestras to gain the skills of leading large ensembles.
With no incoming class, they wondered, who would they conduct? The sophomore class traditionally studies abroad in Prague during the spring semester, so with no freshmen coming next year, each junior would have only their five classmates to conduct in spring 2024.
Students wrote a letter to MPAP administrators asking for the decision to be reversed.
They outlined their concerns about the program's lack of transparency and communication with the program's students and adjunct faculty, who were only told about the admissions pause after the email went out to students.
"We are not satisfied with being consultants and observers in changes that will impact us," read the letter, which was signed by the majority of the current music education students.
"We stand ready to collaborate and share the goal of ensuring that our stellar program continues to thrive." Read the Entire Article
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Ganesh Natarajan is the Founder and Chairman of 5FWorld, a new platform for funding and developing start-ups, social enterprises and the skills eco-system in India. In the past two decades, he has built two of India’s high-growth software services companies – Aptech and Zensar – almost from scratch to global success.