Declining enrollment and decreasing financial support were key factors in the recent decision to end the Creative Activities Program, a 28-year-old stronghold at Ohio State.

Tracy Stuck, director of Student Activities and Campus Programs, was given responsibility for CAP this year from the Ohio Union. While Stuck’s staff reviewed the program, they realized it had lost money over several years and decided to cancel it.

“It was a business decision that was made. The way the CAP is set up, it receives no funding from the Ohio State University, so it needs to support itself financially,” said Beth Ullum, CAP coordinator.

CAP student participants and instructors were surprised by the cancellation. “I think it is horrible. The Creative Activities Program is a wonderful, not-too-expensive program that gives people of all ages an opportunity to learn things they would not normally be able to learn,” said Evelyn Chapin, a 17-year-old Wellington High School student and Latin dance participant.

Chapin paid for the Latin dance courses to complete her senior independent project in high school. The project requires students to complete 60 hours of participation in an activity that the student wants to learn.

Students are concerned that they will not be able to find alternatives to CAP that are affordable and conveniently located.

“I’ve only been in Columbus since August, and I am not really sure about other opportunities,” said medical student Sarah Lengen. “I would really like to sign up for another dance class or an art class, if I can find something as good and affordable as the Creative Activities Program.”

Lengen paid for her first CAP social dance course because the social dance classes offered by OSU were filled before she had the opportunity to register.

Michael Heath, a CAP drawing and painting instructor, contacted Stuck about the future of the program. Stuck said the coordinators would rather stop and find out what is going on, than decide a way to finance the program if enough students and community members express interest.

Students were interested in variety of options to participate in new and interesting activities with experienced instructors. Nilesh Shah, a medical student participating in social dance, said he never had the opportunity to take social dance as an undergraduate. Consequently, the CAP course accommodated Shah’s schedule better than the undergraduate class.

Ullum agreed with the students who said the program was really great and it is a shame it must close because of financial problems. “I think it is an excellent program. We have outstanding instructors and we have evaluations of our program every quarter,” Ullum said. “Our instructors get very high marks for their course content and their instruction.”

Other issues may have affected the program’s cancellation. Heath said the decreasing money, declining enrollment and changing demographics could have influenced the cancellation. Road construction and parking were mentioned as inconveniences of taking courses at the Ohio Union, and women particularly mentioned campus safety as a concern.

During the ’70s and ’80s extended adult education was very popular, Ullum said. However, in the ’90s, people worked longer hours and did not have time to take classes that relieved them of stress. The CAP could not pay instructors sufficiently without increased operating revenue and student participation.

Students were surprised that although the program attracted students and community members, the enrollment had fallen to 700 participants during fall quarter and 1,200 participants during winter quarter.

According to the CAP Web site, it was a non-credit, educational program that sponsored more than 400 programs annually. The program distributed catalogs and conducted registration on a quarterly basis.

Frank Gencur, former coordinator of CAP, said in 1984, the organization, known then as the Creative Arts Program, changed its name to the Creative Activities Program to eliminate confusion with the programs offered by the College of the Arts and Sciences.

The cancellation of the program does not reflect the quality of programs or the willingness of instructors to share personal experiences.

“I feel the Creative Activities Program has been one of stewardship and mentorship that is based around the sharing of skills,” Heath said.

Ken Marrow, a CAP social dance instructor, said he approached the program adviser and volunteered because he loves to teach. “I wanted to teach at OSU, for OSU, in OSU because they were the ones that started me on this adventure. It feels like I am coming back home and teaching the home team,” Marrow said.

Warren Bartholomew designed the CAP because the general public and students had a real desire for outside academic programs in art and cultural activities.

“The Creative Activities Program, I think for a long time, gave an expansion to the arts and the things we are in culture,” Heath said. “I think it would be a shame to see it totally disappear and just be disbanded.”