Campus Renovation

Once again, the University began experiencing issues with class venue overcrowding and over-scheduling. This time, the issue involved psychology classes in the Healthcare Department of the School of Critical Infrastructure, theatre classes in the College of the Arts, education classes in all of the schools and departments, and trademarking classes in the School of Business and School of Ethics.

Both traditional-minded Conservatives and far-left Liberals began advocating against a proposal made in Universal Council for another campus renovation, voicing such opposition upon the principle that the University Founders believed in giving Cabotton Scholars an open space in the outdoors in order to give them the best possible study environment. However, this sentiment was overshadowed by both mainstream Conservatives and mainstream Liberals in University Council, who approved the renovation in September 1351.

Construction would begin in June 1353 and be finished in May 1354, and would add to the Main Campus of the University a School of Psychology in the Northwest part, a School of Theatre in the Northeast part, a School of Education in the Southwest part, and a School of Trademarking in the Southeast part.

With said renovation completed, the Main Campus had no room left on its property for further lateral expansions. Thus, discussion arose in the University Council chambers surrounding three proposed solutions: to buy more land neighboring the Campus to the South, to buy land outside of Cabotton proper, or to expand underground space below the Main Campus. The first solution, buying neighboring land to the South, was deemed unfeasible for some Council Members due to its poor terrain and also the need to pay zoning expansion fees. The second solution, buying land outside of Cabotton proper, was also frowned upon by some due to having to provide consistent and costly mass transit for students, as well as confusion over tax codes and legal ambiguity surrounding the University Deed which provided a shield to the Main Campus from government intervention. And the third option, expanding underground, was deemed to cause too much of an interruption to University functions and was also the most expensive of the three options.

These propositions would be brought up time and again over the years that followed, but would lead, each time, to an impasse that would never be overcome.

It is important to note, however, that the underground expansion option brought to public light the notion that the Main Campus rested upon one of the world's richest henshale deposits. Though the henshale industry of Remikra died out in 1311, henshale developments in other parts of Circlaria, particularly those involving businesses based in the Kingdom of Gyrosak, were still thriving. Many henshale representatives from abroad came to the University with numerous propositions for the University to lease some of its property for drilling. Several Members in University Council voiced favor toward this, highlighting the potential financial benefits toward the University Treasury. However, being that such an idea violated the University Constitution principle against conducting for-profit business, the idea ultimately met an impasse.

Waltmann School Expansions

Following the success of Waltmann School Expansion Project V came discussions for Project VI, which involved expansion across international borders and occurred in three Phases. Phase I, approved by the University Council in June 1351, would begin construction in June 1353, finishing in May 1354, on one Waltmann School for every Duchy in the Kingdom of the Great North. Phase II, scheduled to be voted upon by June 1357, would begin construction in June 1359, finishing in May 1360, on one Waltmann School for every State in Tandeiyah. And Phase III, scheduled to be voted upon by June 1363, would begin construction in June 1365, finishing in May 1366, on one Waltmann School for every Province in Furthing. To note, all Waltmann Schools abroad would be tuition-free.

With this in progress, discussion emerged among Kotimer and supporting Council Members to arrange in Silba for June 1372 a conference between the University, numerous other schools, Congress of Circlaria, the Great North, Tandeiyah, and Furthing to possibly designate, officially, Cabotton University a Global Academy. This, however, triggered controversy within the Cabotton student body.

Originally, the idea of having a Global Academy, whether by administrating one or working with one, was an idea favored by Cabotton Conservatives, as Global Academies were respected, at the time, for providing standards of academic success. Over time, the idea of a Global Academy increasingly appealed to Cabotton Liberals, who had previously been opposed, because of how the Global Academy of Ancondria established tuition-free schools abroad, providing quality education to those otherwise less fortunate. Headmaster Kotimer and the Cabotton Liberals saw an opportunity for Cabotton University to do just that.

The issue with Cabotton University's initiative was that building more Waltmann Schools on such a scale would ultimately pass expansion costs down to those students within the Commonwealth who were still paying tuition. Kotimer addressed this concern by saying that the achievements were worth the cost. And so the Cabotton Conservatives began drawing upon Cabotton University's traditional past and its practice of not charging tuition to students. From this, they began increasingly to push for the elimination of student tuition and the practice of the University taking out bank loans.

Aerospace Projects

During the tenure of Prime Minister Alexander Schraber, the Independent Commonwealth State of Retun developed an Aerospace Program. Until the mid-1340s, most projects from this Program involved sending balloons to the upper atmosphere to record data. However, with the arrival of the mid-1340s came an initiative to engage in actual space exploration. And the federal government, now under Prime Minister Raol Robinson, tasked Cabotton University, primarily its School of Design and Engineering, to design and build spacecraft.

The initiative carried out by Cabotton University built the unmanned Slingshot Pod launched as the first-ever human-made object to space, which occurred on 02 June 1351 at 4:32 p.m. The initiative also produced the first manned spacecraft, which carried Urnamine Plake on 14 September 1353; and in the years to come, the initiative would construct significant parts of the internationally-owned space station, Ultima Porta.

The 1351 Headmaster Elections

Despite the new stances taken during this period, the Cabotton Conservatives had become very divided among themselves, with many individuals within prioritizing individual pride over collaboration with their peers. As a result, running on the Conservative side against Kotimer in the 1351 Headmaster election cycle were three candidates: Tom Kormann, Ervine Rondol, and Paul Morris. All vowed, basically, to roll back Kotimer's policies, while they failed to voice agendas of their own.

This proved humiliating for the Cabotton Conservative Party as Kotimer won re-election by a record seventy-five percent of the vote.

Resentment Toward the "Establishment"

Despite Kotimer's win in 1351, there began to emerge, within both the Liberal and Conservative camps of the student body, resentment against the incumbent University Administration, or the "establishment," over what appeared to be favoritism awarded toward high-achieving students. Furthermore, there was resentment against the ever-increasing student tuition.

Though Kotimer had promised to keep tuition affordable, inflation from the growing Retunian economy as well as mounting costs from the Waltmann School and Main Campus expansions had led the University Council to make such increases during sessions in October 1347 and October 1348. The Tuition Decision Committee established by Kotimer at the beginning of her tenure, attempting to regulate the rate of tuition increases but also having to factor in costs and inflation, permitted the University Council a larger and larger margin of tuition hikes as needed at a minimum. As a result, tuition increased to 1636.20 credits per semester in June 1349, and to 1835.82 credits per semester in June 1350. It then increased to 2062.79 credits per semester in June 1351, to 2346.42 credits in June 1352, to 2703.80 credits in June 1353, and to 3215.59 credits in June 1354.