Drastic times may indeed call for drastic measures. However, a reduction in courses offered by the University should not be part of the drastic measures. The University administration has already assured students that under no circumstances would any compromise be made to the quality of education. It would be self contradictory on the part of the University administration to make a cut in the number of courses.

The importance of a course should never be judged purely on the basis of the number of attending students. Many courses are unpopular with students because it is comparatively harder to get a good grade in those, or because they may be research-oriented with a laboratory component, which may not appeal to students seeking a career in the industry rather than the academia. That does not imply that their value or significance is any less. Students who wish to opt for such courses deserve to have them available.

It all boils down to the point that students must be given a fair chance to plan their degree requirements and be provided with a fair chance to graduate as early as they deserve. Hence, reducing the frequency at which these courses are offered, such as offering them every alternate spring rather than every spring, for instance, is not a feasible option either. It may force a student to choose a course that he or she is less interested in just so that he or she may graduate on time.

Students’ ability to choose courses they find value in is a matter of paramount importance as they must enjoy what they do in order to be able to do their best work. So, denying them this right is a valid example of compromising the quality of education, the fear which had been “put to rest.” This could have far-reaching repercussions, including hurting the image of the University as a whole.

It is important for the University to stick to its word and make certain that budgetary constraints do not come in the way of the high-standard learning that our University has come to be famous for over the past century. A high standard of education attracts a larger number of students, not just from other parts of the United States, but from around the world.  This will return as profit to the University in the form of an enhanced generated revenue, which would counter the budget problems N.C. State is faced with much more efficiently than a reduction in the number of courses being offered.