Dean’s List: UNCG academic program cuts are looming. Which ones could be affected?
Months after UNC Greensboro formally began an “academic portfolio review” in response to declining enrollment and a subsequent budget shortfall, Chancellor Franklin Gilliam last week released a list of programs that could be on the chopping block.
The review has drawn criticism from some members of the university community since it began last spring, with faculty and students organizing marches, rallies and a petition — with nearly 4,000 signatures to-date — against the potential cuts.
Gilliam’s announcement Jan. 16, which included the cuts deans across the university recommended, was no different.
The campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) said in a statement that implementing the proposed cuts “would be a dangerous precedent that would undermine UNCG’s administration’s commitment to shared governance and transparency,” while the Greensboro Student Organization, which formed last fall in response to the review, said it did “not condone or support the discontinuation of any program at UNCG.”
The organizations will host another rally against the cuts Wednesday afternoon on the UNCG campus. Petitions to save at least two of the programs included in Gilliam’s announcement have also popped up in the past week, with each gaining a few hundred signatures.
Gilliam is expected to make the final decision on which programs will be cut on Feb. 1, following recommendations by UNCG Provost Debbie Storrs.
So, which programs are facing discontinuation? And how many students are currently enrolled in those areas of study?
Welcome to Dean’s List, a weekly roundup of higher education news in the Triangle and across North Carolina from The News & Observer and myself, Korie Dean.
This week’s edition includes more on the looming program cuts at UNCG, the UNC System Board of Governors considering requirements on the “foundations of American democracy” and more.
Let’s get started.
List of potential programs to be cut at UNCG
Deans across UNCG recommended the following undergraduate majors to be discontinued, according to Gilliam’s message last week:
Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, with 62 students currently enrolled.
Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education in Geography, with no students currently enrolled. (The other undergraduate programs in geography would not be affected, Gilliam’s message said.)
Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, with 24 students currently enrolled. (Minors in Islamic studies and Jewish studies, which are housed in Religious Studies, would not be discontinued, Gilliam said.)
Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in Physics, with 30 students currently enrolled. (If the physics major is discontinued, the university will continue to offer lower-level physics courses to satisfy other STEM major requirements, Gilliam said.)
Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, Teacher Education (K-12), with eight students currently enrolled.
The following undergraduate minors, certificates and other course offerings were recommended to be discontinued:
Minor in Chinese, with 36 students currently enrolled.
Minor in Russian, with six students currently enrolled.
Korean language courses. (Gilliam did not specify the number of students enrolled in these courses.)
The following graduate programs were recommended to be cut:
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Nursing, with five students enrolled.
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Advanced Practice Foundations of Nursing, with two students enrolled.
Master of Arts in Applied Geography, with nine students enrolled.
Master of Fine Arts — Drama Concentration in Directing, with no students enrolled. (Concentrations in Musical Direction for Musical Theatre, Theatre for Youth, and Design will continue, Gilliam’s message said.)
Master of Fine Arts in Interior Architecture, with three students enrolled.
Master of Arts in Languages, Literatures and Cultures, with seven students enrolled.
Master of Arts in Teaching in Languages, Literatures and Cultures, with one student enrolled.
Master of Arts in Mathematics — all concentrations, with five students enrolled.
Master of Education in Special Education, with seven students enrolled.
Dual Masters in Nursing Science and Business Administration, with 10 students enrolled. (The standalone MBA and standalone Master of Science in Nursing would not be affected.)
PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders, with 12 students enrolled.
The deans also recommended pausing admission to the university’s Master of Fine Arts in Drama — concentration in Acting and the PhD program in Social Work, Gilliam said.
Note: The numbers above represent corrected information Gilliam provided after his initial message Jan. 16 included incorrect student counts, per an updated message he sent Friday.
Students enrolled in programs that are cut will be able to finish their studies at the university. Gilliam also indicated the university would offer support to affected faculty.
“For those programs ultimately designated for discontinuation, the wind-down process will take years. While we can’t know at this point precisely how that process will unfold, we do know that there will be no immediate changes to staffing or instruction in the affected programs,” the chancellor said. “Any affected faculty and staff will have significant time to prepare for any transitions, and other opportunities within UNCG may be available to them.”
Will UNC System implement its own REACH Act?
The UNC System Board of Governors is scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday, and the meeting agendas are looking pretty packed.
The university governance committee is voting on a policy that could allow UNC System President Peter Hans and the board to veto the system’s 16 universities from moving athletic conferences.
The full board on Thursday is expected to pass about two dozen policy changes, mostly related to personnel.
And another committee on Wednesday will hear about “a proposal to ensure undergraduate students acquire a shared foundation in American democracy,” which would involve new reading requirements across all UNC System schools.
Citing surveys that “consistently find that Americans of all ages lack basic knowledge about the function and foundations of American government,” the educational planning, policies and programs committee meeting agenda states that a faculty-led working group has developed two “student learning outcomes” on the subject.
The first outcome, focused on “America’s founding as an independent nation,” would require students to read the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Federalist Papers.
The second outcome, focused on “the effort to implement the nation’s ideals,” would have students read the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
Those documents mentioned in the meeting agenda are nearly identical to the ones that would have been required under House Bill 96, or the NC REACH Act. That bill, which lawmakers considered last year but did not pass, would have required students to complete a 3-credit-hour course on the topic and take a final exam, worth 20% of their grade, on the documents.
The system working group was tasked with ensuring “that the requirement be implementable across the UNC System without increasing student time-to-degree or debt at graduation.”
“To that end, the two [student learning outcomes] are designed to be addressable across different disciplines, through a single course or in two courses, and with wide latitude for additional context and content,” the meeting agenda states.
Some faculty criticized the REACH Act, including nearly 700 at UNC-Chapel Hill who said the proposal “violates core principles of academic freedom.”
Wednesday’s presentation is only for information and discussion. Proposed policy changes to implement the requirements will be presented at the committee’s next meeting in February, the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting states.
FAFSA Day coming to NC colleges near you
If the acronym “FAFSA” sends shivers down your spine — trust me, I’ve been there and done that — worry no more.
North Carolina FAFSA Day is this Saturday, Jan. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon, offering you a chance to get free help filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid at 60 colleges and universities across the state. Financial aid counselors will be on-hand for one-on-one and small-group support to help complete the form and answer other financial aid questions.
FAFSA is revamped this year with a significant update to the system. And it’s especially important for North Carolinians to fill out the form this year, as it’s a key piece of qualifying for the new Next NC Scholarship, which is offering scholarships to community colleges and UNC System schools for students whose families make $80,000 or less per year.
To see which community colleges and UNC System universities are participating in FAFSA Day, and to learn what documents you need to bring, visit cfnc.org/pay-for-college/fafsa-day.
Higher ed news I’m reading
With higher education increasingly caught in political crosshairs in recent years, it could play an unusual role in this year’s elections, Inside Higher Ed reports.
After about half an hour of contentious discussion, the UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty Council on Friday voted to postpone indefinitely a resolution condemning remarks made by a pro-Palestinian guest speaker at a campus event in November. The Daily Tar Heel reports on that discussion and other moments from the meeting.
Thousands of California State University system faculty walked off the job Monday to demand higher pay, making for the largest faculty strike in U.S. history, The New York Times reports.
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That’s all for this week’s roundup of North Carolina higher education news. I hope you’ll stay tuned for more.
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