SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — Students in Marywood University’s Music, Theatre and Dance Department say a newly announced academic reorganization does not address the concerns that prompted them to speak out publicly earlier this week.
Students first shared a social media post detailing what they describe as months of frustration over curriculum changes, communication from the administration and the condition of the Sette LaVerghetta Center, the home of the department.
The post quickly gained attention online, two days later Marywood announced the creation of a new School of Communication and hold meetings with Music, Theatre and Dance students to explain the changes.
While university leaders say the reorganization strengthens arts education and preserves existing programs, several students told FOX56 they still have unanswered questions.
Junior Music Education major Emma Renard said students’ concerns began long before the university announced its new academic structure.
Students claim they have experienced faculty departures, changes to course requirements, reductions in methods classes and uncertainty surrounding applied music lessons.
“Our methods courses where we learn the crucial elements of how to play instruments that we’re going to teach have been cut in half and they cut our applied lessons in half and they’re saying that we might not be able to take any more lessons depending on our academic track,” Renard said.
She also said students were surprised when administrators announced Music Education would be administratively moved into the School of Education.
“We are now in the School of Ed. That is a huge change, and I never expected that to happen,” Renard said. “I really do wonder when we would have found out about the splitting of the MTD if we didn’t take to social media to share our concerns.”
Renard said she still worries about how recent curriculum changes could affect accreditation requirements for Music Education students.
“We’re really worried that we won’t graduate with the same degree that we were coming into Marywood to get,” she said.
Despite those concerns, Renard emphasized students are not trying to harm the university.
“The biggest thing I can say is that this isn’t the same Marywood that I fell in love with when I was eight years old and I decided that I wanted to become a music teacher,” she said. “While some of the things have stayed the same, it’s changed and it’s saddening, but we still love Marywood and we want to make a positive change.”
Music Education major Hudson Malinowski, who graduates in December, said students have struggled to get consistent answers from administrators.
“Throughout the entire process of us trying to have these changes made and trying to have our voices heard, we’ve gotten a lot of mixed messaging and contradicting statements,” Malinowski said. “It’s all just been very convoluted.”
She said students are still looking for explanations behind changes they say affect their education.
“We’re getting a lot of information told to us, but not a lot of explanations as to why,” she said.
Malinowski said students remain concerned about potential accreditation impacts, changes to tuition and credit policies, and what they describe as years of neglect within the department.
“Our primary concerns that we’ve posted about are still our concerns. They have not been solved by that reorganization,” she said.
Students also raised concerns about previous flooding and HVAC issues inside the Sette LaVerghetta Center, saying they believe the aging building has created an unsafe learning environment.
The university said the new school of communication will bring together Theatre, Multimedia Communication, Film, TV and Digital Production, Journalism and Public Communication, Sports Media, Music Production, Podcasting, Digital Storytelling and related disciplines to better reflect today’s creative industries.
Theatre will move into the new School of Communication, while Music Education will be administratively aligned with the School of Education.
University President Lisa Lori said Music Education students will continue completing the same curriculum approved by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).
“The students are still going to take all the same classes, all the same lessons, ensembles, everything that’s within that prescribed, published, NASM-approved curriculum,” Lori said.
Lori said the biggest administrative change is who advises Music Education students.
Previously, music faculty served as primary advisors while education faculty were secondary advisors. That structure has now been reversed.
According to Lori, the university found some students were taking additional music lessons and ensembles before completing required core coursework, delaying graduation.
She said placing education faculty in the primary advising role will help students stay on track while maintaining accreditation requirements.
The university also pushed back on claims that students can no longer take applied lessons beyond degree requirements.
Marywood said students may still enroll in additional lessons once they are making satisfactory academic progress toward graduation. However, because those lessons fall outside degree requirements, they may require an alternative method of payment rather than traditional financial aid.
Students also questioned conditions inside the Sette LaVerghetta Center following flooding earlier this year and ongoing HVAC issues.
Lori acknowledged the building, which dates back to 1951, has experienced infrastructure problems.
“It was a very cold period of time. We had a pipe burst in the lower level of the building,” Lori said. “It was all fixed and we had a company come in and do some testing.”
She said Marywood invested roughly $300,000 into HVAC improvements last year and has continued making upgrades throughout the building.
The university maintains the building is safe and says testing confirmed it was suitable for occupancy after repairs were completed.
Marywood officials say the new School of Communication is designed to create more interdisciplinary learning opportunities.
Lindsey Wotanis, associate professor and director of the new School of Communication, said theatre students will gain additional experience both on stage and on screen.
“Allowing those students to learn not only stage acting, but screen acting, directing and producing as well I think that’s going to make the students way more marketable,” Wotanis said.
Film Club advisor Bill Murphy said collaboration between theatre and film students has already begun.
“There’s already been some cross-pollination on campus,” Murphy said. “With the new reorganization here at Marywood, we’re really excited about opportunities to collaborate between theatre students and the film students.”
Despite the university’s announcement, students say their original concerns remain centered on transparency, curriculum changes and communication.
Several students told FOX56 they believe many of their questions remain unanswered.
Students are planning a demonstration on the first day of classes in hopes of drawing additional attention to their concerns and continuing conversations with university leadership.
Meanwhile, Marywood says the reorganization reflects its long-term commitment to the arts and positions students for careers in an increasingly collaborative creative industry.