Dive Brief:
- Syracuse University will eliminate 93 academic programs identified as having low or no enrollment, the private New York institution announced Wednesday.
- But unlike many colleges making cuts, Syracuse is not doing so out of financial necessity, according to Lois Agnew, the university’s provost and chief academic officer.
- The downsizing came from a desire to make the institution’s offerings “more focused, more distinctive and more aligned with student demand,” Agnew said in a campus letter. No positions or departments have been slated for elimination, she said.
Dive Insight:
Just 258 students are enrolled across the 93 programs being cut, Agnew said. That represents 1.2% of the university’s roughly 22,000 students.
Of the 93 offerings, 41 are bachelor’s degrees, 33 are certificate programs and 19 are graduate degrees. More than half, 55, had no one enrolled. Affected fields include statistics, architecture, electrical engineering, Middle Eastern studies, and languages such as French, German, Italian and Russian.
All currently enrolled students will be able to complete their degrees…