Perhaps I can explain why and how the decision was made. This quarter, Journ 404 has only 10 or 12 students, far below normal, which tells us there is not a backup waiting for the class. We did poll classes with a concentration of seniors, and discovered that no more than ten needed 404 Spring quarter to graduate either Spring or Summer. In addition, we checked the transcripts of those who had done senior evals. The net result was that there may be enough for one class but certainly not for two in this field.
Journalism is under constant pressure regarding class size, because of our small writing classes.
We simply cannot justify a class of a dozen or fewer students, certainly not if an alternative is available. But we do have limitations, and class size is always a major one. In the case of Journ 404, we did have an alternative, one we have used in the past to substitute for 404. Journ 460 is also a class concentrating on feature style work, and has long been accepted for Journ 404. Professor Alia has been preparing for this class, and her availability gives us the opportunity to offer it Spring quarter.