UNL Department of Modern Languages awaits money from state

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures is watching the Nebraska Legislature closely.

Based on how much money the University of Nebraska-Lincoln receives from the state, the department might be able to offer more sections in its fullest language courses, said Marshall Olds, a French professor who is acting as chairman for the department.

"We are under very tight budget constraints," he said. "That's essentially the problem; the money for instruction is very tight … We are not able to schedule all the sections we would like."

The department is doing its best to cut down on costs in other areas.

For example, Olds said using Blackboard more often cuts down paper costs.

However, teaching personnel is the biggest part of the budget, and he said it's facing constraints.

While all languages are facing a squeeze, Spanish and Japanese classes are facing the worst enrollment problems, Old said.

In the Japanese program, scheduling conflicts have left students with problems getting into higher-level courses.  Second-year Japanese students need to take both JAPN201 and JAPN203 in the fall. Each class only offers two sections, leaving some students high and dry if they have a conflict.

"The early section of 201 was practically empty, but it conflicted with my math and electrical engineering classes, and the later section was completely full," said Dan Clough, a freshman electrical engineering major at UNL. 

"At this point it looks like I'll have to wait an entire year before I can take 201, and anyone who's taken a foreign language knows that a three-month break can really throw you off, let alone a whole year without exposure to the language."

Administrators want to resolve these issues by offering maximum overrides into the later class section and encouraging students who don't have a conflict to switch.

They anticipate a potential problem in getting enough seats in 200-level classes in the spring but will cross that bridge when they get there, said assistant professor Ikuho Amano, in an e-mail.

Students who just want to fulfill the language requirement wouldn't continue taking classes at that point, so there might be plenty of space for students who want to get a Japanese minor, Amano said.

For now, the department and the rest of the university just have to wait and see if they will get extra money from the state.

If the Legislature does give more to the university, and funds become available, enrollment will be the top priority, Old said.

"All departments are watching this very carefully," he said. "Hopefully we'll find a way to accommodate as many students as we can."

jennagibson@dailynebraskan.com