Classes canceled due to instructor resource limitation

[u/Ok_Exit9273]

I attend a large university in the U.S. and just received a deeply concerning email regarding the upcoming fall semester. It appears that many of our professors—who are here on visas—have had their visa statuses unexpectedly terminated. As a result, several classes will no longer be offered, and this may significantly impact students’ ability to graduate on time.

I’m genuinely worried about what this means for my academic future, and I’m trying to understand the broader implications. Has anyone else received similar notifications or experienced something like this?

[u/Puzzled_Internet_717]

It happened to me on a much smaller scale in 2002 (they blamed the aftermath of 9/11). Some classes were canceled, adjuncts were hired for others, and in some situations students had more leniency with course substitutions.

[u/AmountFrequent1684]

One of my professors just had a mental breakdown because the one of the programs that she was apart of that offered research and internship opportunities just shut down after 30 years. All the funding for the program was gutted along with a bunch of other programs and scholarships. She said that in her 40 years of being apart of academia that this has been the worst she has seen and it doesn’t look good for current students.

[u/ladyreyreigns → u/AmountFrequent1684]

It’s so freaking stressful in academia right now. I’m a grad researcher in early childhood education policy and we’re struggling to find ways to pay the GRAs with the funding being pulled and cut. Much less how to get funding for the actual research, which is how we end up paying everyone. Everyone is so stressed all the time. I’ve started working from home to avoid being surrounded by twenty other extremely stressed people.

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[u/Emergency_School698 → u/AmountFrequent1684]

Is it a part or apart?

[u/failure_to_converge]

Get ready…PhD students do a TON of heavy lifting in academia, as TAs, instructors, and research assistants (advancing research projects and conducting experiments for faculty, in addition to their own research). Many universities have no incoming PhD students next year…that highly underpaid labor won’t be replaced easily.

[u/miladinho → u/failure_to_converge]

great insight actually, but also sad af

[u/failure_to_converge → u/miladinho]

Yeah we’re in uncharted territory. Some of it won’t hit yet, because you usually don’t teach your own courses until year 3 or so…which means that the shortage of folks won’t hit for a couple years. But a lot of schools also didn’t hire any new faculty this year because of the financial uncertainty.

It’s not an understatement to say that this could break many schools as we know them.

[u/kannesax1 → u/failure_to_converge]

But science labs are almost exclusively taught by graduate students. At large schools in introductory courses this could be 50-100 sections!

[u/failure_to_converge → u/kannesax1]

Oh, 100%. I just meant that the impact might not be super obvious to students (especially lower level students) this year in some departments. But yup...there are going to be departments leaning more heavily on faculty/more senior PhD students for that stuff (which means they're not doing some other work instead...)

[u/miladinho → u/failure_to_converge]

so what do we think will happen when the impact catches up? Let's lay out some scenarios ahead of time, group think

[u/popstarkirbys]

I have not heard of this happening yet so far in the professor community. Do you know if they’re adjuncts on yearly contracts, on student visas (OPTs), or work visas (H1B). If they’re adjuncts, then it’s “normal” in academia to not renew their contracts due to budgeting. If they’re on h1b, then the US higher ed system will eventually crumble since they rely heavily on international scholars.

[u/Ok_Exit9273 → u/popstarkirbys]

Sadly, they didn’t say but it came so quickly after the visa cancellations news it seemed so odd. I know other fields are scarred with the tariffs.

[u/popstarkirbys → u/Ok_Exit9273]

Yea, there’s not enough information to judge what’s happening. It’s likely that they’re on yearly contracts, either adjuncts or NTT instructor/teaching assistant professors. Admins rarely comment on visa situations either, they usually just tell them they aren’t being renewed. The university will likely hire new adjuncts to teach the courses.

[u/Ok_Exit9273 → u/popstarkirbys]

Is the job market in that much of a need for professors? I thought most were higher or very specific subjects

[u/Jenings]

I mean this is the result of voting trump in again

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[u/big__cheddar]

Fear not. If it's one thing administrators know how to do it's how to replace full time, fully vetted and committed permanent faculty with cheap part-time adjuncts they find off the street.

[u/sophisticaden_]

The best thing you can do for this is vote blue in midterms and vote blue in 2028.

[u/Ok_Exit9273 → u/sophisticaden_]

Sadly that is all i do yet the opposite keeps happening :/

[u/HarryAugust]

Yep, though my university is a little different. They just can’t find anyone to hire or not leave to better opportunities. Sucks cause I’m going to have to take an extra year. They don’t have enough professors to teach enough classes for me to take 15 credits. Sadly can’t transfer little too late for me, going into my 4th year.

[u/AltAccountTbh123]

I'm an undergraduate but my uni hasn't experienced this at all and a lot of my professors are immigrants. I'm unsure about everyone's immigration status but like everyone I know is pretty locked in.

Now I do wonder what state you're in because admittedly my state did vote republican this last election. 🤔 So is it possible that this systematic crackdown on unis is targeted at blue states/"woke" colleges?

Our college is definitely blue. But I'm wondering if we are getting skipped because we dwell in a state that voted red.

[u/Ok_Exit9273 → u/AltAccountTbh123]

It not a blue/red state thing. Its a federal visa program.

[u/eatmelikeamaindish → u/AltAccountTbh123]

it’s a nationwide thing. it could be because you simple haven’t heard anything yet or your school isn’t a public research school that’s heavily government funded.

i’m in a red state that’s always been a red state (except for obama lmao) and it hit us hard bc we have a bunch of research schools. my undergrad school literally had a breakthrough in cancer research and biotech and they had funding pulled. i currently work at a PRIVATE research university and we also have huge cuts and a hiring freeze (so much for giving americans jobs). mind you, the school i work at is in one of the 3 counties in my state that are blue.

[u/AltAccountTbh123 → u/eatmelikeamaindish]

I'm at a pretty wellknown research school and I haven't heard anything of the sort. For instance one of my professors I've worked with before specifically targets breast cancer.

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[u/Emergency_School698]

I wonder if more and more classes will be offered as asynchronous?