Dive Brief:
- The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s chancellor has proposed cutting six academic programs to save $7.7 million in the public institution’s budget.
- Additionally, four academic departments would be merged to form two new schools to save another $2 million, according to a Friday memo from Chancellor Rodney Bennett to the university’s Academic Planning Committee.
- The proposed program consolidation is part of a wider effort by the state flagship to slash $27.5 million from its budget by the end of the year.
Dive Insight:
Bennett signaled in August that academic program cuts could be on the way as the university wrestled with a nagging deficit.
On Friday, the chancellor outlined a plan to save $21 million to close a structural budget gap as well as $6.5 million “in proactive reductions.”
The UNL academic programs on the chopping block are::
- Community and regional planning.
- Earth and atmospheric sciences.
- Educational administration.
- Landscape architecture.
- Statistics.
- Textile, merchandising and fashion design.
In many cases, those program cuts would include the elimination of both bachelor’s and graduate degrees. For educational administration, however, UNL is considering keeping a master’s program in the field while cutting bachelor’s, doctoral degrees and certification programs…