The college is considering laying off two professors in the music department due to  declining enrollment at Bucks.
Bucks’ provost, Lisa G. Angelo, agreed to comment.

According to Angelo, seniority does not protect professors from layoffs.

“There are provisions in the faculty contract that allow, with enough notice, for any faculty member to be laid off. This is one time where seniority does come into play, but any faculty given the correct circumstances, could be vulnerable,” said Angelo.

Layoffs have been announced in previous years at the college but those professors were able to transfer to another department to teach.

“I know that notification of impending layoffs has gone out before. I’m unsure if faculty layoffs actually happened because faculty have the ability to retrain in other areas that have sufficient enrollment,” said Angelo.

Angelo also spoke in regards to the declining enrollment at the college.

“Enrollments have been on the decline for numerous years due to a variety of factors. Our main factor is the declining number of high school graduates in Bucks County but also increased
competition for students,” said Angelo.

“State government funding for community colleges have been flat,” added Angelo.
Each year the college makes staffing adjustments to try to deal with low enrollment.

“All managers continually assess staffing needs and the deans and I do this each year, particularly given the decline in enrollment. There were other areas in which faculty retired, or those faculty retrained to teach courses with sufficient enrollment, etc.,” said Angelo.

The situation is being handled by Angelo and others carefully.The college is attempting to
prevent these layoffs.

“Our efforts are focused on recruitment and retention. It is not something anyone takes lightly,” said Angelo.  Angelo added that the music department will remain active at the college regardless of any professor layoffs.
“It is our hope that the faculty in the music area will be able to be recalled if or when enrollment increases or if senior staff retire.
“Administration is charged with the fiscal well-being of the institution and, unfortunately, sometimes layoffs are a necessary result of that fiscal responsibility,” said Angelo.