Indiana’s Public Universities Cut or Merge Nearly 600 Degrees
“In total, the 1,056 programs officials reviewed enroll only around 4% of Indiana’s college students”
It’s great to see universities cutting and downsizing what were undoubtedly bloated programs. We need more of this.
The College Fix reports:
Indiana universities cut or merge 600 degrees
Indiana public universities will cut or merge nearly 600 degrees following a statewide review.
The state’s Commission for Higher Education released the results of its review on April 1. Under state law, degree programs must meet certain enrollment benchmarks over a three-year program or they face elimination. Universities can petition for exceptions, and about half of the 1,000 degrees that were flagged for review were allowed to continue.
Chalkbeat reported that the cuts affect relatively few students. “In total, the 1,056 programs officials reviewed enroll only around 4% of Indiana’s college students,” the news outlet reported. “The nearly 600 programs targeted for suspension or elimination enroll just 0.6% of all students in Indiana.”
The decision follows an annual review as required by a 2025 law. Last year universities announced they would cut 75 different degree programs, including 68 with zero enrollment, The College Fix previously reported. Officials suspended or consolidated another 300 degrees under the law.
A review this year identified further programs to merge or cut.
“Out of those over 1,000 under-threshold degree programs, approximately 470 degree programs will continue with no impact to current students,” the commission stated in a news release.
Among these excepted were new degrees that are working to build recruitment, such as media and cybersecurity degrees.
Some universities will merge programs into similarly existing degrees.
For example, Ball State University is consolidating undergraduate degrees in mathematics education into a math major.
Purdue University-Fort Wayne is consolidating its undergraduate degrees in economics, anthropology, political science, and sociology into one bachelor’s program in social sciences.
Indiana’s Secretary of Education Katie Jenner explained the value of the review and taking action to cut programs.
“Students and their families invest significant time, money, and trust into postsecondary education, and they deserve confidence that programs are viable, aligned with student interests and workforce needs, and positioned to deliver real outcomes,” Jenner stated in a news release.
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