With budget cuts increasing steadily, students worry that their major, club, or student employment may be next on the chopping block. And for those that have already faced the blade, they feel as though there has been little communication on what is happening.

Jordan Becvar, a third-year student studying psychology who also served as a housing tour guide before the ambassador’s took over, shared her experience.

“I was not really told that my position would be terminated as a housing tour guide. There was just an email that the ambassadors were going to take over a month beforehand, but no one really talked about it,” Becvar said.

Becvar continued, stating that she is worried for the ambassadors because of this change, as they are not getting paid, and this change creates more work for them.

“This was their [the ambassadors’] fifteen-minute break. Which isn’t a whole lot, but it was fifteen minutes for them to have a breather,” Becvar said.

Cooper Lipski, a third-year student majoring in mass communications: journalism, a recently cut major, talked about his experience.

Lipski jokingly made a comment that he chose the “wrong major”.

“I chose this college because of this major, and the next thing I know they said ‘you’re [explative] out of luck,’ But thankfully the school is keeping the major for current students until 2024,” Lipski said.

Dr. Ann-Marie Dunbar, the department chair and a professor in the English department, talked about her experience of ending the English graduate program.

“It was a long process. That’s not a decision we came to quickly. The [English graduate program] had been experiencing a decline in student enrollment and there was a reduction in the number of graduate assistantships we could award students. Our support declined enough that we had to cut the program,” Dunbar said.

Dunbar continued, saying that cutting the program made her sad, which she said will be a loss for faculty and potential students.

“These budget cuts do make me nervous. The way that we [the English department] see it, is that we have had seven retirements in three years, and none of them have been replaced with long-term hires. That’s a third of our faculty,” Dunbar said.

Tania Schmidt, the director of admissions, talked about how admissions have been higher this year than in the previous years and why.

“We are able to have in-person fairs, high school visits, and community college visits, in-person tours as well as virtual tours, and counselors that reach out which have been very helpful,” Schmidt said.

Admissions have been declining since the COVID-19 pandemic but has gone up this year.

Schmidt continued, listing ways that the school is changing to help cover the cost of certain costs, such as combining trips such as doing many high schools or community colleges in one trip.

“All of our departments are doing everything they can to retain students with the resources we have available to us,” Schmidt said.

Denise McDowell, the Vice President for Enrollment Management & Student Life, talked about if these cuts could hurt enrollment.

“The short answer is it could. Not all budget cuts mean that the major will go away,” McDowell said.

McDowell continued, adding to the conversation that budget cuts and issues relating to budgets are not just a problem at Winona State, but nation-wide. Colleges and universities everywhere are dealing with funding and budgetary issues.

One college that we saw hit hard due to budget cuts is St. Mary’s University, who dropped eleven liberal arts programs last year.

“Earlier this year in May, Saint Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota, announced that they would be dropping eleven programs in what they claim is a rebranding of the institution’s identity. This announcement came after many incoming freshmen had already enrolled in those programs. It has also resulted in about thirteen faculty members losing their jobs at the university,” Erich Schweitzer from the Winonan.

McDowell commented on if this could happen at Winona State, saying that “anything is possible.”

“I don’t want to take anything off of the table, but I know that in my director circle that we are committed to the quality of education at our school, and we see that across campus that people are also committed,” McDowell said.

McDowell also commented on how there was a decline in enrollment as well, but it was not a part of COVID.

“We have seen it since 2011. People are having fewer kids as the generations continue, so there is a natural decline in enrollment,” McDowell said.

McDowell also talked about the enrollment decline due to the pandemic and how it also was a natural response to the time period.

“We saw a decline during the pandemic because students are just like everyone else. Just trying to survive during the pandemic and not worrying about school until later,” McDowell said.

McDowell also stated that the pandemic is not yet passed, as we are still going through mental and economic damage, but soon we will see a new normal with the virus.

“We are still not yet in the post-pandemic world, but we are getting there. It will start in 2025 or 2026. Like we do a cold or the flu or any other kind of major element or virus around the community. So we did take a hit. We look at that and it was about maybe 500 students who didn’t choose to enroll,” McDowell said.

McDowell said that this school year has been a beacon of hope for many students, who have told her that this year has been the first normal year.

“It’s weird for later years such as juniors or seniors to have their first or second normal year, but we are finally having it,” McDowell said.

McDowell continued, saying that this energy will bring back students to Winona State.

“We see the energy, which will bring people back, these interpersonal relationships students are experiencing in person whether that be at a sports game, coffee shop, or wherever will make students feel special, that they’re not just an application,” McDowell said.

Read also: Saint Mary’s University drops eleven liberal arts programs