STORRS, CT — The University of Connecticut will be keeping nearly all of its small academic programs in place over the next fews years and slated to close are a “handful” that have minimal or no enrollment.
UConn will also temporarily suspend a small number of others while their “feasibility” is studied.
That was the word Wednesday UConn Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Anne D’Alleva, who presented the findings of her office’s review of low enrollment and/or low completion programs to the Board of Trustees.
Find out what's happening in Mansfield-Storrswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Statistics had been “further refined” Wednesday since D’Alleva gave a preliminary overview last week to the University Senate, but show the same trend now as then. That is, the vast majority of small programs will remain in place, contrary to concerns that some people had publicly expressed about sweeping cuts or impacts to particular departments or fields, she said.
No undergraduate programs were among those presented or discussed Wednesday for closure or suspension.
Find out what's happening in Mansfield-Storrswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“I’m very grateful for the thoughtful engagement of the faculty, department heads, and deans in the low-enrollment program review,” D’Alleva said.
She said recommendations for closure or suspension that the schools and colleges are making to the board are grounded in “careful analysis” of student demand and faculty workload, she added.
The review, which was initiated last spring, is a standard process at universities nationwide to “help maintain the right balance of academic programs, meet student needs, make responsible use of resources, and support the institutional mission,” she said.
UConn officials said the process did not target any particular disciplinary field and made no assumptions about any programs. Being included in the process only meant that a program’s enrollment and completions were below the thresholds that would be expected in a five-year window, officials said. Those thresholds were 100 or fewer degree completions in undergraduate programs, 50 or fewer in master’s programs, 25 or fewer in graduate-level certificates, and 10 or fewer in doctoral programs.
Four programs will be closed as a result of the assessment’s findings:
A total of 12 other programs will be temporarily suspended:
The suspension allows time for the academic units and their faculty to take actions that would support future reinstatement, or to conduct a thoughtful evaluation that may result in permanent closure. That includes assessing the program’s viability, curriculum, resource needs, and alignment with institutional goals and workforce needs, officials said.
Officials addd that the potential impact on students is limited, since only 8 percent of the nearly 6,000 undergraduate degrees completed at UConn in an average year are in majors with 20 or fewer average annual completions.
Across all levels of undergraduate and graduate programs, more than 90 percent of completions are in programs that are above the thresholds set for review.
Click Here: stade francais rugby jerseys
The provost office’s academic programs review also served as an organizational tool to “identify and remove majors from the catalog that had already been suspended over previous years but were never taken off the books. The review process identified 22 such programs.
Of the 213 active programs and concentrations within degree programs that were studied in the review, at least 173 will continue. As of Wednesday, they included:
Evaluation reports are being finalized on 18 others.
Only four programs were slated to close as of Wednesday. Three are graduate-level certificates that have failed to draw enrollment:
The fourth is a master’s degree focusing on the intersection of politics and popular culture; its sole enrolled student graduates in May, officials said.
The UConn Trustees approved the closures of the two health-related certificates and the master’s program on Wednesday, and a resolution will be presented to them at a future meeting to close the global risk management certificate program.
Of the 12 to be suspended, several are graduate-level certificates:
The degree programs in each area continue to offer curriculum covering those topics, however.
A sixth-year certificate offered in educational technology will also be suspended, along with master’s degrees in international studies, medieval studies, survey research, and educational technology and a doctoral degree in medieval studies.
“Many departments are also bringing forward exciting and innovative ideas for boosting enrollment in programs where we have capacity to grow, and I look forward to working with them on these initiatives,” D’Alleva said.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.