NASHVILLE, Tenn.
Tennessee colleges and universities dealing with $56 million in cuts this year must decide which of their undergraduate programs are expendable.
At Tennessee State University, its governing board has targeted at least 12 programs that are low producing and in danger of termination next year as part of a three-year review cycle.
One of those programs at the historically Black institution is in the Africana Studies department, which had a budget last year of nearly $320,000.
The department’s degree program had only 15 students, the lowest of any undergraduate major program at the school. Four students earned a bachelor’s degree from the program in 2007.
“Instead of trying to serve everyone, we need to develop a more narrow focus on some of our programs,” said TSU Provost Robert Hampton.
The Tennessee Board of Regents has identified a total of 70 such programs.
