Dive Brief:
- The Iowa Board of Regents on Thursday approved the elimination of ten programs through closures or mergers at two of the state’s public universities.
- The board previously mandated that each of the state’s three public universities review low-enrollment degrees.
- The University of Iowa got approval to terminate seven programs, while the University of Northern Iowa received permission to close three graduate programs. Iowa State University is also seeking to cut 10 programs and consolidate 13 others under a plan presented to a board committee on Wednesday.
Dive Insight:
Last year, the regents tasked the state’s public universities with reviewing their programs for workforce alignment and sufficient enrollment. The board set low-enrollment thresholds at 25 or fewer students in bachelor’s programs and 10 or fewer for graduate offerings.
The board then told university leaders to identify program closures or mergers that would improve administrative efficiency or boost workforce preparation.
In the five months since, the universities have been looking at program data and working with their campuses on plans for potential cuts.
University of Iowa to cut 7 programs
University of Northern Iowa to cut 3 programs
Ultimately, the universities didn’t move to cut every program that fell short of the regents’ enrollment thresholds. For example, University of Iowa found 13 undergraduate and 16 graduate programs were underenrolled by the regents’ definitions. But it only asked to close six undergraduate programs and one graduate degree.
UI Provost Kevin Kregel pointed to the university's French program as a case in which faculty were able to right the ship.
“The faculty in that program were really engaged and have been over the last year able to increase their major numbers,” Provost Kevin Kregel said at a February board meeting. “We are going to make sure that they have the opportunity to continue to grow.”
Iowa State likewise exempted many programs from its closure plan that fell short of the enrollment metrics. That includes seven programs that it deemed important to workforce needs and other concerns, including a nursing bachelor’s, two veterinary graduate programs and three teaching programs.
Iowa State will begin formally requesting board approval for program eliminations starting in June, Provost Jason Keith said Wednesday.
Iowa State eyes 10 program cuts
Officials have also said that courses will continue in fields where larger programs are closing. For instance, Kregel said in February that UI would try to account for student interest by offering minors and courses in topics with program closures.
During a Wednesday meeting, members of the Iowa Board of Regents’ academic committee echoed that many courses will survive program closures.
While state regents asked the universities to evaluate programs in terms of enrollment, student return on investment, and workforce metrics, the financial costs and benefits of programs were left out of the review.
However, Regent Christine Hensley on Wednesday asked the Iowa State leaders to look at the “actual fiscal impact” of closing their programs, as well as if any employee positions would be cut. At Thursday’s meeting, Hensley followed up, saying that the universities would not save much on costs by closing the programs.
Financial analysis of programs and courses, while often contested and unstraightforward, can often show the surprising benefits of keeping low-enrollment programs.
Even so, some states are mandating program closures based solely on headcounts. Ohio and Indiana have both enacted laws that set minimum levels for graduating students, below which public institutions must eliminate programs unless granted exceptions by their state boards.
Indiana public colleges have cut or merged about 580 programs under the state's law. In Ohio, public colleges cut nearly 90, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
