Penn State recently cancelled a few courses because of a lack of registered students in them.

Garry Burkle, associate registrar, said that after the drop/add period ended Tuesday, two additional courses, Plant Pathology 417 and Nursing 586, were canceled. Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said it isn't feasible to use faculty and university resources for courses that are under registered.

While it is understandable that the university needs to cut back on expenses, especially considering the ever-increasing tuition, there are other ways to solve this problem.

The university posted recommended student enrollment numbers for all classes. For the general education courses and 100- to 300- level courses at least 15 students should be enrolled for the course to be offered. At the 400 level, a minimum of eight students is suggested.

The university should consider e-mailing the students in the college the course will be offered in to see how much interest there is before they add a course.

Obviously, the university cannot offer classes with only 15 students on every level. However, it should be noted that the quality of a course is increased significantly when the class size is smaller. We know that the university has to watch its wallet, but we don't think education should be sacrificed.

The real problem arises when a student is registered in a course that is cancelled after classes start. In some cases, that student could have been counting on that specific course to fulfill a graduation requirement.

It is unfair to cancel a class because not enough students have enrolled, especially when a new course needs to be added to the student's schedule.

If the university is going to cancel a class, it should do everything in its power to ensure the students are given ample chances to enroll in other courses that satisfy the requirements.

The university should allow a student to add a full course because the university took the other course away.

Even if the university helps the student enroll in another course, it could be two weeks into the semester by this point, meaning the student has already missed several classes.

Courses should not be cancelled after the semester begins. By that point, students have worked out their schedules and planned their lives around them.

One solution could be changing a course with low registration into an independent studies course.

Cancelling classes without regarding the implications that could be carried with those decisions is unfair and irresponsible on the university's part.

It is extremely hard for students to schedule at University Park, and when students finally get schedules that fit their needs, taking away a course can be a matter of "to graduate or not to graduate."