Yesterday, I overheard a conversation in the lounge (this was at the office) between some of my co-workers. One of them, who is no doubt in a position to know such things, was talking about some of the curriculum changes in secondary ed, and how they are likely to affect the way things go for higher ed. Apparently (and I knew this was coming anyway), there are some plans in place to have a majority of students in our state come to college with composition credit already earned. This would be a big change for my department, of course, because at least half of our total sections are composition sections. And frankly, given the constant competition on campus for students to fill out sections, missing students from composition sections also means missing the opportunity to recruit them for literature survey classes. This means, unfortunately, that the makeup of our department is apt to change. It also means that the amount of resources to which the department is entitled is apt to change. It also means that the makeup of the courses we teach is apt to change.
We (my colleagues and I) might be forced to make the case for why our discipline matters in a 21st century regional state university. And frankly, if we can't make that case, we shouldn't have the positions we have.
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