Cancelled JMC Classes

AUBG is cancelling 2 JMC classes next semester - History of Documentary Film (JMC 470) and Production (JMC Special Topics JMC 480b). The reason that has been given is the currently low number of enrolled students in each class.

We believe the classes should not be cancelled for the following reasons:

- JMC department does not support cancelling those classes

- JMC classes are different than other classes, because students work in a lab, and those kind of classes demand hands-on experience, and are easier to teach when there is a smaller number of students

- All departments have low enrollment in some of the classes, and low enrollment should not be the reason to cancel the classes

- Professor Maleev is an adjunct professor, and as such is cost-efficient for the administration

- Many courses at AUBG are taught by adjunct professors, and if the administration were to cancel all of those courses, AUBG would be left without half of its courses

- It doesn't make sense for Professor Maleev to teach only Video Journalism, and to commute to AUBG just to teach one class

- One of the reasons the Production class has low enrollment is because it is offered only on Friday. The JMC students who are going to be doing their internship in the NU Boyana Film Studios next semester are going to be working there every Friday, which is why they cannot enroll in any classes on that day of the week

- Cancelling those two courses would not be beneficial for the new Film Studies minor. (History of Documentary Film class and the Documentary Filmmaking class will be regularized as a part of the Film Minor)

- Even though the Production class and the History of Documentary Film class have low enrollment now, it may happen that they will have better enrollment come the first week of classes

- Both the Production class and the History of Documentary Film can be promoted in order to attract more students

- Professor Maleev is a valuable asset to the university, since he has a lot of connections in the field of Production and Journalism in Sofia and therefore could provide good networking relations for his students.