Indiana public colleges to shed or consolidate over 400 degree programs

Dive Brief: 

• Six of Indiana’s higher education institutions are moving to collectively cut or consolidate over 400 programs in the face of a state law taking effect Tuesday that aims to end academic offerings that award low numbers of degrees. 
• The programs on the chopping block account for 19% of all degree offerings at the state’s public higher education institutions. The colleges opted to consolidate 232 programs, suspend 101 and eliminate 75. 
• Under the new state law, public colleges must seek approval from the Indiana Higher Education Commission to continue degree programs that don’t graduate enough students to meet certain thresholds. If the commission doesn’t grant approval, colleges must eliminate those programs. 

Dive Insight: 

The new quotas are a part of a slate of last-minute provisions that Indiana lawmakers added to the state’s budget plan, which was signed into law in early May, to reshape college governance. Along with the quotas, lawmakers also implemented post-tenure reviews for faculty and gave Republican Gov. Mike Braun full control over selecting Indiana University’s governing board. 

Braun praised the degree cuts and consolidations in a statement Monday, casting them as a way to ensure public colleges prepare students for in-demand fields and streamline their offerings. 

“This will help students make more informed decisions about the degree they want to pursue and ensure there is a direct connection between the skills students are gaining through higher education and the skills they need most,” Braun said. 

Under the new law, associate degree programs are on the chopping block if the average number of students they graduate falls under 10 students over the past three years, while bachelor’s programs are at risk if they graduate fewer than an average of 15 students. Master’s and doctoral programs have slightly lower thresholds — an average of seven and three students, respectively. 

Indiana University is moving to cut or consolidate 249 programs across its campuses, the most out of the six institutions. Of those, the university is immediately eliminating 43, suspending another 83 and consolidating 123. 

Indiana University Bloomington, the flagship campus, will see 116 degree cuts or consolidations. 

The cuts and consolidations at Bloomington heavily impact programs in education, humanities and foreign languages, including bachelor’s programs in Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. However, they also include STEM programs, such as bachelor’s in statistics and atmospheric science. 

Ahead of the news, some faculty members expressed concern they could lose their jobs due to the state law, Heather Akou, president-elect of the Bloomington Faculty Council, recently told WFYI. 

“Even tenured faculty are wondering, am I going to have a job in two months?” Akou told the station. “We’re scheduled to teach classes. Will I be allowed to teach the classes I’m scheduled to teach this fall? I don’t know. That’s really the level of chaos and confusion that’s going on right now.”

An Indiana University spokesperson on Tuesday said that 27 programs would be created through consolidating other programs. The spokesperson did not answer questions about how the cuts and consolidations would impact faculty, but referred Higher Ed Dive to a university announcement detailing the changes.  

Purdue University is moving to cut or consolidate 83 programs, followed by Ball State University (51 programs), Indiana State University (11 programs), Ivy Tech Community College (10 programs) and University of Southern Indiana (4 programs).