Dive Brief:
- The University of Iowa aims to cut six undergraduate academic programs and a master’s program after performing a state-mandated review for low-enrollment fields, leaders told the Iowa Board of Regents Wednesday.
- The programs include bachelor’s degrees in women’s studies, applied physics and three language programs, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in African American studies.
- UI Provost Kevin Kregel said the institution plans to seek formal approval of the cuts at an April board meeting. Officials at Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa also shared plans to request program cuts in the future through their own review processes.
Dive Insight:
In a presentation to regents Wednesday, Kregel pointed to declining or “consistently” low enrollment in the degree programs officials are looking to close, all of which are housed in the university’s liberal arts and sciences college.
Each program’s current enrollment falls well below the thresholds of over 25 students for undergraduate programs and over 10 for graduate programs, both set in a November regents report on workforce alignment last year.
The university’s Russian program, for instance, had 10 students enrolled as majors, while its African American Studies bachelor’s degree had nine. The African American World Studies master’s degree had no students…