- Close to 90 degree programs at Ohio’s public universities are being cut as a result of Senate Bill 1, which requires universities to scrap any undergraduate degree programs with fewer than five graduates per year for three straight years, the Ohio Capital Journal reports.
- Kent State University had the highest number of programs being cut: 19, the newspaper reported.
- The programs being cut in Ohio run a broad spectrum of subjects in both STEM as well as liberal arts. Among the 19 programs that Kent State is eliminating for instance, are bachelor’s of arts degrees in Africana studies, dance studies, French, earth science and mathematics.
The bigger picture:
While the current wave of program cuts at Kent State and other public universities centers on low-enrollment thresholds, it is part of a broader, more aggressive legislative shift in Columbus. This is the same legislative engine that recently led Ohio State University to close their of diversity and inclusion office, signaling that the current mandate to scrap underperforming majors is not just a fiscal necessity — it is a policy-driven restructuring of the mission of public higher education in Ohio.
The latest round of cuts come at a time when colleges and universities are under increased pressure to prove that their programs are paying off for graduates. They’re also under pressure to use scarce and dwindling resources to serve workforce needs. Proving the programs pay off can be hard to do when there are few graduates to begin with.
Ohio is just one of several states that have passed laws targeting programs with low demand. Other such states include Indiana and Utah, where the legislative effort was cast as "strategic reinvestment.”
