A little over a year after officials announced “right-sizing” efforts in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development following years of declining enrollment, the school has eliminated at least three degree programs and plans to scrap its department-based structure.
Officials eliminated at least three programs in the special education and disability studies department over the past year and plan to eliminate a fourth, according to a faculty member in the department, as faculty terminations and resignations tied to the right-sizing initiatives made it unsustainable to continue offering the programs. Officials also removed an additional three programs in other departments from the University Bulletin, compared to web archives from March, as Interim Dean Lionel Howard prepares to reorganize the school from its current five department structure to a “faculty-of-the-whole” model by fall 2027, according to two GSEHD faculty members and a University spokesperson.
University spokesperson Nadia Payne confirmed the reorganization, saying a steering committee and three faculty working groups focused on governance, academic programs and research, and school leadership and operations will facilitate the reorganization process. Payne said the quality of the academic experience at GSEHD remains a “top priority” during changes to degree offerings, and students who have already begun degree programs and remain active in them will be able to complete their degrees and receive support to do so…