Back in late November of 2024, President Deana L. Porterfield of Seattle Pacific University and her office announced several reductions of majors and departments. This decision was made in response to the university’s decade-long declining student population and ongoing changes in student choice regarding majors being pursued. These changes have included academic departments across Seattle Pacific’s campus being told to reduce their budgets. As a consequence, this forced reduction has naturally resulted in employees being laid off and a decline in student workers on campus.
Evan Fish, a third-year student majoring in computer science, was one such student worker who found himself without a job because of the university’s cuts in computer science.
“[At] the end of summer, I applied to be for a tutor position in the computer science department. I was hired and was working fall quarter. [I] started at the beginning of the quarter, until the department was told they had to downsize student staff by 75%,” Fish said. “So then we went from eight tutors to three. And then they also cut tutoring hours.”
Computer Science Professor Dennis Vickers, who oversees the department’s lab assistant program, the department’s version of tutors, and had to implement the cuts, is unsure whether these reductions will meet the university’s criteria.
“It’s cut back significantly,” Vickers said. “I don’t have a lot of feedback yet as to whether that’s being effective or not. Wait and see how this quarter works out.”
Tutoring at Seattle Pacific varies department to department. Some academic departments, like computer science and writing, employ their own tutors and have their own study tables (e.g., the Writing Studio). Other tutoring, like the math, biology, and chemistry study tables in Otto Miller and Ames Library, are headed by the Center for Student Success.
The Center for Student Success is a new department at Seattle Pacific this year, with it replacing the Academic Support Center, which previously oversaw psychology, biology, and chemistry tutoring on behalf of their respected academic departments.
According to the Director for the Center for Student Success, Elle Gohr, the study tables do not currently feature psychology because the psychology department did not fund it.
“The psychology department this year did not offer the funding for tutoring,” Gohr said. “[Between the academic departments and the CSS] it is an open relationship.”
According to Thaddeus Ho, a sixth-year student majoring in Mechanical Engineering and a second-year math tutor, study tables under the CSS have not been affected yet by the university’s attempts to cut costs.
“Just the fact that there hasn’t really been any effective cuts or layoffs for people, like tutors getting laid off, I’d say it’s going well,” Ho said. “I do like the fact that the math study tables are under the Center for Student Success. It kind of puts everything a lot more centralized.”
Nevertheless, Ho knew some tutors outside of the CSS that have not seen the same luck.
“I had two friends, actually, who used to be tutors at the computer lab [who got laid off]. It did seem to be just budget cuts,” Ho said.
To Fish, the reduction of tutors on campus will weaken the overall ability for some students to get much needed help and put more burdens on tutors that are still employed on campus.
“I think that [it] degrades one of the strong points that the school has. Shortening tutor hours, and now that there’s only three tutors working all week. That’s a lot of shifts, and that’s a lot of commitment,” Fish said. “And now it’s making it a lot harder on the student staff that are working.”
Student employees are not alone in their struggle with Seattle Pacific’s cuts. Faculty and non-student staff have also seen reductions on campus. The Office of University Services, which handled Falcon Card Services, Housing and Meal Plans, Conference Services, Bookstore and Mailing Services, contracts with Sodexo, campus vending, and laundry services for Seattle Pacific has been cut entirely. Card Services have been moved to the Office of Safety and Security, while Housing and Meal Plan, Conferences and contracts with Sodexo have been moved to the Office of Student Life.
According to Doctor Jeff Jordan, the vice president for Student Life, which oversees the departments of Community Life, Athletics, Wellness, Student Ministries and Student Success, some staff from University Services were let go during the department’s reallocation.
“There were four people in the Housing Meal Plan area, for instance. Two continue now to work with my staff in Residence Life [under Community Life],” Jordan said. “There [has been] a reduction of staff in a lot of different areas around the campus. And we work with Human Resources in regards to what does that mean and as far as when staff are let go or cut along that line.”
The Office of Residence Life now oversees assigning students to their residences, inspecting rooms, meal plan changes, and other responsibilities that University Services previously had. But, according to Jordan, students were not informed of these changes or other changes specifically made by the university.
“In regards to consulting with students, or even student leaders about the plans to make changes, no [students were informed of the process] and most of that is really because of personnel issues,” Jordan said. “We don’t usually consult with students on personnel types of situations.”
The Sodexo offices in the University Services Building have also moved to the Student Union Building where Student Life is located, leaving their previous building entirely unoccupied.
Students interested or confused about changes in where to get services on campus are advised by Jordan to talk to staff and faculty.
“I think folks are willing to talk with students if they feel like there’s things that are not understood, or believe that it’s kind of going in a way that is too secretive or other things,” Jordan said. “But again, with the academic changes, in particular with the majors and all the rest, I think that’s been pretty out there as far as putting information [out to] the students”
As for student tutors and other employees though, from their perspective it appears that they got a short end of the stick. For Fish, his sudden loss of his tutoring position at Seattle Pacific has caused some strain for his time as an undergraduate.
“I’ve been looking for a new job. I’m mostly focusing on looking for internships for this upcoming summer, because I’m a third year,” Fish said. “I need to try to get that going. But it definitely makes it harder financially.”
