After the November 2025 restructuring that eliminated several academic programs (French Major/Minor, Journalism Minor, German Minor, among others.), students and faculty are still grappling with the “teach-out” plans that are legally required to be provided. While Calvin continues to work to provide legally bound pathways to graduation, students across the French, German and sociology programs are fronted with varying logistical hurdles, delayed communication and a continued sense of loss.
Laura DeHaan, dean of curriculum and assessment, is helping to organize the teach-out programs. “Part of my position is to work as a liaison between the Higher Learning Commission and Calvin University,” DeHaan explained. The Higher Learning Commission is the agency that accredits Calvin and keeps it in compliance with federal standards. “In the case of a closure of an academic program, they have teach-out rules that ensure we take proper care of our students who are affected. This is only for majors, as teach out arrangements for minors are not required,” DeHaan noted.
To fulfill these federal requirements, the university’s strategy includes teaching the required courses even after the program has officially ended, identifying other schools that can assist with student’s education, assisting them in transferring to said schools — if students wish — and providing additional advising through this transition.
Because minors are not legally protected in the same way as majors, faculty have had to pivot to informal advisory roles. For instance, Jesse Holcomb, the faculty supervisor for the Journalism minor, noted that “for the journalism minor, I will be working in an advisory role with current journalism minors to help them complete their requirements.”
Communication to affected students
Students across affected departments have expressed widespread dissatisfaction with how the plans have been communicated. Ada Hoogendam, a sophomore French major, recalled the initial shock and subsequent silence following the announcement. “It came out in November that they were cutting our program, and then it was just radio silence. We heard nothing for almost six months,” Hoogendam said. When an informational meeting was finally held over spring break, Hoogendam felt it lacked substance. “That meeting was not very informative,” Hoogendam noted. “They didn’t really come to the table with a lot of ideas. There wasn’t a lot of clarity in what’s happening. I still don’t know what’s happening.”
Grace Winkle, a sociology major, expressed similar frustrations regarding the advising process. “They say they’re going to be flexible with what we need so we can graduate on time,” Winkle said. “But if you ask a question, your advisor doesn’t know the answer — that’s not on them. That’s on whoever’s putting on the classes.” Winkle directed a plea to the administration: “Don’t say you’re going to support us if you don’t know how you’re going to support us. It’s like they are legally obligated to help us out, but they don’t know what that looks like.”
For students studying away from campus, the lack of clarity has been particularly challenging. Miriam Cirsman, a junior pursuing a German minor currently studying off-campus in Washington D.C., highlighted how distance exacerbated her fears. “Being off-campus has made this much more complicated!” Cirsman wrote to Chimes. One of her few options requires a credit exam only offered this semester, Cirsman noted, “I either have to somehow be on campus this semester, or just not have that as an option.”
Alisa Tigchelaar, the current chair of the World Languages department and the administrator responsible for organizing the teach-out programs for the three programs cut in the department relayed the challenge of such tasks. “It is a lot and it’s surreal … it’s very odd to me almost on a cellular level that I am working on a teach-out program for French. Like, what am I doing here? Not that I don’t know what I’m doing or can’t do it, it’s just a very challenging process…”
Tichelaar continued to state that despite the challenges that lay ahead, she is going to stay true to providing continued support to students: “I feel that this is what I’ve been called to do, and this is what I’m going to do, and I’m going to do it as well as I can, and take care of all of the people as well as I can. And that includes my outgoing colleagues, and it includes the students who are stranded with a less than ideal situation.”
German: Off-campus or online
A major component of the teach-out plans involves partnering with neighboring institutions such as Grand Valley State University (GVSU) and Hope College. However, the logistics of commuting have forced some students to reconsider or even abandon their academic aspirations entirely.
Lucas Phelps, a sophomore German minor, commented on the costs. “The actual tuition will still be covered by Calvin. So it’s not like you’re paying extra to take this other class, but I don’t think that they’re covering gas or anything like that,” Phelps said. Phelps added, “It’s 20 minutes to Grand Valley from here, even further to Hope … that’s gas money spent, of course, but then that’s also time spent.”
Briar Stonehouse, a junior German minor, is deciding whether to drop the minor because she does not have a car. “Going to Grand Valley … it’s such a disruption in my schedule, in my academic experience at Calvin. I’m paying to go to Calvin University, not to take classes at Grand Valley that require me to go out of my way to do that. And I’m not here to take classes online,” Stonehouse said.
Online learning alternatives have also been met with skepticism. Mimi Van Staten, a freshman German minor, mentioned an online teach-out option with the Goethe-Institut but stressed that “learning a language online isn’t really the best option.”
French: Semester abroad & clinical constraints
For the French programs, the Fall 2026 semester in France is serving as the academic lifeline for those needing last minute accreditation. Jolene Vos-Camy, a professor of French who has been at Calvin for almost 30 years, will be leading the final France semester study abroad program, where she will end her time with the university. “For the major, it is 32 hours. So a student who’s already completed four courses at the advanced level right now here on campus, and does a semester program, they’ll finish their major,” Vos-Camy explained.
Tigchelaar highly endorsed this route, noting, “In terms of the people going abroad, you guys are getting the platinum experience because you’re getting the original degree.”
However, for students with strict major requirements, such as nursing, studying abroad is virtually impossible. Kaitlin Pegman, a sophomore nursing student and French major, shared her disappointment. “I can’t do a semester abroad [because of clinicals]. I really wanted to, but I couldn’t,” Pegman said. Hoogendam faces the exact same barrier, stating, “We don’t want to drive to Hope, we can’t drive to GVSU with our clinical schedule and that makes it tricky.” Both students are now contemplating whether they can finish their major at all, or forego it altogether and accept a minor.
Sociology’s Struggle for Staffing
The sociology department faces its own set of unique hurdles, primarily concerning the staffing of required major courses. Johnathan Hill, chair of the sociology and social work department, pointed out that “the biggest complication is social theory. That is a required course for the majors … This is my area of expertise, but I obviously won’t be around to teach it in the fall,” Hill explained.
Amy Kuiper, a sociology major, commented on the vitality of this course, saying, “We are all advising around the fact that sociological theories can be taught in the spring. Everyone’s planning around that, but we don’t know, so there’s a huge unknown that’s just kind of stressful.”
Hill gave context on how the department reached this point, noting that starting the criminology major years ago successfully boosted the overall number of majors in the department but ultimately reduced the count of specifically sociology majors. “So, what began as an attempt to boost the number of majors in our department, ultimately led to our demise,” Hill reflected. “We are all mourning because we know that sociology is absolutely central to the mission of Calvin to equip students to become agents of renewal in society.”
Kuiper echoed this notion, as she relayed her confusions regarding the cuts: “a liberal arts school cutting sociology? There was just a lot of confusion and disappointment, especially in the social science community where this program is foundational.”
This instability leaves students such as Winkle anxious. “There’s a lot of uncertainty and because of it, there’s a fear that I might have to take an extra fall semester and won’t technically be able to graduate on time,” Winkle said.
Faculty sacrifice & student determination
Behind the logistical difficulties lies an emotional toll on the faculty who dedicated their lives to build these programs. Otto Selles, the former chair of world languages, was terminated during the program cuts in November 2025 but will teach at Calvin through the= end of 2026. Selles explained his plans to help students complete their work: “It’ll be a stacked class, but you have different levels. I’m picking a textbook that people could use from different levels, since this is the last advanced [French] language class, the goal is just to have fun.”
Selles noted the difficulty in having to come back to Calvin: “We have been laid off, right?” He continued, “I know we [the professors who were cut] brought value to the university beyond the number of majors in our program. I think it’s hard to quantify the actual impact. So when everything is judged on numbers, then yeah, get rid of us. But not everything should be judged on numbers. And that’s what’s hard to accept.”
Tigchelaar highlighted the immense personal sacrifice this requires from Selles. “Can you imagine how hard it would be for a human being, to be in an environment where he’s a senior colleague, he’s the former chair, he’s as gifted as Otto [Selles] is, he’s got as many awards as Otto does, and you’ve just been fired, and you’re coming back to teach a few classes?” Tigchelaar remarked.
Despite the complicated circumstances, students remain fiercely protective of their education and the professors who provided it. Pegman expressed her grief over the loss of faculty: “I’m more disappointed that I don’t have the opportunity to learn with such great faculty here. Vos-Camy is the best French professor I’ve ever had.”
For Hoogendam, finishing the major is now a matter of principle. “They have to let me finish my major; legally, they are obligated to. So I will be finishing my major in whichever way that they can let me,” Hoogendam stated. “I feel like I’ve put so much work in now, I don’t want to stop … I want to fight for this because you owe it to me.”
