Students frustrated about lack of consultation as their departments are integrated into new School of Languages, Linguistics, and Cultures
Photo by Joshua Hoehne via Unsplash.
In September, UVic’s Faculty of Humanities will launch the School of Languages, Linguistics, and Cultures (SLLC), which will integrate four departments: Linguistics, French and Francophone Studies, Germanic and Slavic Studies, and Hispanic and Italian Studies.
The SLLC aims to create new interdisciplinary courses and research opportunities to enhance students’ experiences in these four departments, while preserving current programs and course offerings, according to Annalee Lepp, Dean of Humanities. However, the consultation and development process for the new school has rubbed some students the wrong way.
The SLLC was officially announced in March 2024, though consultations with faculty have been underway for the past year.
“All the faculty from the four departments were invited and included in the decision making around governance models, unit standards, all the various processes that we’ve had to go through have had the consultation of the colleagues and have gone through voting processes,” said Dr. Émile Fromet de Rosnay, acting chair of French and Francophone studies, in an interview with the Martlet.
However, a lack of communication and minimal student involvement in the consultation process has caused concern and frustration among students in departments anticipating integration.
Justin Salinas, a fourth-year French and Francophone studies major, explained that students have many unanswered questions due to the limited information that’s been available to them throughout the SLLC’s development.
“I think if this were to happen again,” Salinas said, “the faculty really should have communicated with students as early as possible, because not only are faculty implicated in this, but obviously students are the … users of these programs.”
Haley Greenhalgh, a Germanic studies student, expressed a similar sentiment in an interview with the Martlet. “I think we were all just scared about our own degrees and our own cherished [professors]. … We didn’t know what was at stake, and I think if we’d had a little bit of prior notice, it would’ve smoothed things over.”
When asked about the lack of student input, Lepp said, “Throughout the process, the units involved in the creation of the SLLC were given the opportunity to explain the project to their constituents, including students. Different units opted for different ways of responding to this opportunity.”
Additionally, students have been confused about why some departments such as Pacific and Asian Studies and Indigenous Studies are excluded. “If we’re calling this the School of Languages, Linguistics, and Cultures, but we aren’t including at the very least four languages that are in Pacific and Asian Studies, I think that feels a little bit murky and unclear,” Greenhalgh said.
Lepp explained that while the work in some of these departments may partially align with those involved in the merger, they are “outside the scope” of the SLLC.
Students also raised concerns about a loss of individual identity with the amalgamation, particularly in regards to their course unions. “I think that if we’re all suddenly one department we might have less of a specific voice ourselves, because our course union standing is unclear at the moment,” Greenhalgh said.
In a statement to the Martlet, Hemal Sharma, UVSS Director of Student Affairs, explained that the decision regarding course unions for these departments largely lies with the faculty. “Currently our policy is that each department is allowed their own Course Union. We will be consulting with the Course Unions on how this change will affect them and what next steps they would like to see next.” Based on this, the SLLC would only qualify for one course union.
He adds, “As we approach the new school year, I am dedicated to supporting students who may be impacted by this decision through my role in whatever way I can.”
Dr. Silvia Colás Cardona, chair of Hispanic and Italian studies and recently-elected chair of the SLLC, discussed students’ concerns about the SLLC with the Martlet.
“It is true that this past year students weren’t as involved, and that is only because we were setting the foundational policies, the documents, [and] the governance,” said Cardona. “They will definitely get contacted this year as we start working toward the curriculum, because it is very important to have their input.”
“I would really encourage anyone who has any doubt, any frustration, any problems, any suggestions, to come and contact us, because it would be actually great to hear what students say, because if it doesn’t get to us we don’t really know what they’re thinking,” she told the Martlet. “It’s an important part of the process.”
