The draft of the strategic plan released this past week details the administration's vision for Brandeis for the next decade. The draft contains encouraging mentions of infrastructure renovations and increased attention paid to the sciences, the International Business School and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Yet the plan lacks significant detail about the liberal arts. Moreover, the plan shows virtually no concern for the cost of attendance for students.

This board appreciates the practicality of prioritizing some areas over others with the handicap of scarce funds. However, that does not mean the University should completely neglect certain areas in order to improve others. The floor of the University should not be lowered; the ceiling should be raised.

We believe that in order for the University as a whole to be seen as a world-class institution, the liberal arts departments must continuously be improved and further developed. The plan states, "The founders of Brandeis conceived a distinctive model: a small university, bringing together the virtues of a liberal arts college and a research institution." However, the draft focuses on the specific improvements for the science and research aspects of Brandeis rather than the humanities and social sciences. If the liberal arts are not constantly evaluated and improved, we worry they may fall behind the standard that we have come to expect.

In an email to the Justice, University President Frederick Lawrence addressed the concerns regarding the future of the liberal arts at Brandeis. He stressed that the University's dedication to the liberal arts goes without saying. He added, though, that the lack of humanities within the plan would be addressed.

Another point of concern stems from the affordability of the University for students. The University has raised tuition each of the past two years by at least four percent, despite the University already being the second most expensive school in Massachusetts before this year. Although the strategic plan mentions the need to offer "sufficient financial aid to enable admitted students to attend," it does not directly address the increasingly expensive cost of attendance. The cost of attendance must be considered when the University allocates money to all of the various projects that the plan calls for. Affordability is a key aspect in attracting students and the escalated price is something that the University must stabilize to remain a top-tier University.

The strategic plan is labeled on the cover as a "work in progress." With an addition relaying the University's continued dedication to the liberal arts, as well as a course of action in response to the lack of affordability for students, this "work-in-progress" plan can become a plan the entire Brandeis community can be proud of.