Suzio is a former state senator representing district 13 which includes Middletown. He advocates tirelessly to repeal early release laws for violent criminals in CT He is a current state Victim Advocate |
Former State Senator Suzio: Shutdown of night courses, reduced course offerings and limited library hours have had the intended effect – a drastic decline in enrollment on campus
October 14, 2015
For Immediate Release
Former State Senator Len Suzio charges that “the fix is in” - that actions taken by the Board of Regents are intended to justify a close down of the Meriden campus of Middlesex Community College next year. “It is readily apparent to anyone aware of the facts, that the Board of Regents has a secret plan to completely shut down the Meriden Campus. The Board had planned to close the Meriden campus this fall semester, but the Legislature compelled them to keep the campus open. So the Board has hatched a plan intended to produce results that will be used to justify the complete shutdown of the Meriden campus next year,” said Suzio.
“The Board has only superficially ‘complied’ with the Legislative mandate to keep open the Meriden campus. The Administration has cut out all evening classes, reduced class offerings and cut back library hours. The impact is deliberate and predictable. Meriden campus enrollment has drastically declined by more than 46% from one year ago. The number of Meriden campus “seats” dropped from 1,149 to 644 in regular course offerings from the fall of 2014 to the fall of 2015! While Connecticut’s community colleges experienced an average 6% decline in enrollment from a year ago, the Meriden campus has suffered a decline 700% worse! Where are our legislators? Have they fallen asleep? Why aren’t they on top of this situation and demanding to know what is going on”, Suzio added.
“Our children need to have a normal range of course offerings, including evening classes at the Meriden campus. They are being denied educational opportunities by the Board’s ‘sleight-of-hand’. Not only the students, but everyone in Meriden is being penalized by the dramatic reduction of classes and class times. The City’s plans for economic development were based on a doubling of student enrollment. Now we are faced with a nearly 50% enrollment decline and the prospect of complete closure next year. This is bad news for the revitalization plans for Meriden. But our legislators don’t seem to have a clue. I say to our legislators, ‘wake up’ and do something to prevent the shutdown of the Middlesex Meriden campus before it is too late,” Suzio concluded.