It’s amazing that there were so many offerings with no enrollment. So much bloat to cut.
The College Fix reports:
Indiana universities cut 68 degrees with zero enrollment, will merge or suspend 300 othersPublic universities in Indiana voluntarily will cut 75 different degree programs, including 68 with zero enrollment, as part of a state budget bill. More than 300 other degrees will either be suspended or consolidated as part of a new requirement to weed out low-enrollment programs, according to the state’s education department.House Enrolled Act 1001 requires the suspension of low or zero enrollment programs unless a waiver is obtained by the state. State Representative Jeffrey Thompson sponsored the bill. He did not respond to requests for comment from The College Fix.The Indiana Commission for Higher Education announced in a news release “that six of the state’s higher education institutions voluntarily submitted more than 400 programs for elimination, suspension, or merger/consolidation.”The legislation affects 404 programs across Indiana. So far, 229 programs will be merged and consolidated with other programs, while 101 will be suspended with teach-out, and 74 programs will be eliminated in their entirety.Ball State University in Muncie led the list with 51 total programs either being eliminated or consolidated. The school will eliminate its master’s degree in Teaching Major in English/Language Arts, along with programs in software engineering, German education, and chemical technology.Other universities have offered to cut degrees in journalism, unmanned systems, theatre and drama, and nursing education. Many of the programs are narrow education degrees or graduate programs.A higher education expert said the budget bill will “have a positive effect.”“The bill should have a positive effect by ensuring universities streamline programs to better align with student and industry demand,” Madison Doan, a policy analyst in the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, told The Fix via email. “Students currently enrolled in affected programs will be able to complete their studies through a teach-out program, so public universities in Indiana will be able to fulfill their commitments to these students.”
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