By Kelly Meyerhofer
More academic programs at Wisconsin’s public universities could be on the chopping block under a new metric campuses must use to monitor enrollment trends.
The Universities of Wisconsin, also known as the UW system, formed a taskforce last year to explore program cuts in response to declining enrollment and persistent financial pressures.
A group of administrators – UW-Oshkosh Provost Ed Martini, UW-Platteville Provost Laura Reynolds, UW-Stout professor Nelu Ghenciu and UW system associate vice president Ben Passmore – developed the new metric. It’s based on enrollment over a three-year period. The current metric looks at student graduates over a five-year period.
UW-La Crosse Provost Betsy Morgan presented the new metric to the UW Board of Regents at a Dec. 4 meeting, using the example of her institution’s French program.
Fewer K-12 students studying French has had downstream effects on enrollment in the major. At UW-La Crosse, seven students are majoring in French, down from 19 in 2019. It would have passed muster under the current metric, but now would be flagged for potential closure.
Morgan noted her example was not a commentary on the value of foreign language programs. The new policy will allow universities to keep low-enrolled programs if they provide justification to the UW system office of academic affairs.
One regent said decisions should be based on more than just numbers.
“It has to start with the question of what we value as liberal arts institutions,” said State Superintendent Jill Underly. She said what the board values needs investment and commitment.
Here’s five takeaways from the taskforce’s report:
Few UW programs slated for closure under current policy
The current monitoring process flags for consideration programs that produce less than 25 graduates over a five-year period, or about five graduates per year.
This metric has resulted in between 41 and 54 programs being flagged over the past three years, according to UW records. Three to eight of these programs are anticipated to be reviewed for suspension or elimination. The other programs are expected to remain.
The current metric represents a lagging indicator because of its reliance on graduates over enrolled students, said UW-La Crosse Provost Betsy Morgan.
New metric to monitor UW academic programs proposed
The new metric calls for flagging programs that enroll fewer than 15 juniors and seniors who have declared the major over a three-year rolling average.
Some programs have students declare majors early in their college careers. Others don’t. Focusing on declared juniors and seniors provides a stronger apples-to-apples comparison across campuses, Morgan said.
Identifying even more programs to review by lowering the enrollment metric or analyzing additional variables “creates unnecessary workload with no appreciable benefit,” officials said in the meeting materials.
UW system records estimate the new metric would flag 10% of programs, or 65 programs, in a single year for review by campuses.
What happens after a program gets flagged?
Getting flagged is not the end-all for programs. But universities will be required to provide justification for keeping them and create a plan to increase enrollment.
Some programs may be critical to the campus’ mission. UW-Green Bay, for example, offers a First Nations Studies program. While enrollment is small, it’s seen as vital to supporting a connection with Indigenous peoples and culture, especially the Oneida in the northeast Wisconsin area.
Another reason universities could keep a low-enrolled program is because it’s externally funded or offered at minimal cost to the campus. UW-Parkside’s International Studies program, for example, is taught by professors in other departments and has no dedicated faculty cost.
Other programs might produce few graduates but enroll many students because of general education curricuulum requirements or prerequisites to other coursework. This may be the case for disciplines such as math, world languages and philosophy.
More oversight and annual report to monitor program cuts
The task force called for the UW Board of Regents to receive more detailed information on program management.
An annual report should list every university’s program offerings, indicate which were flagged for review and summarize the justification for keeping underperforming programs.
Focus on low-enrolled programs began last year
The look at low-enrolled programs stemmed from a report last year by Deloitte, an external financial consultant.
The Deloitte review classified 30% of UW programs as “low-enrolled.” Of nearly 650 undergraduate degree programs analyzed, Deloitte classified nearly 200 of them as “low-enrolled,” or having 52 or fewer students majoring in them annually.
The analysis was based on fall 2023 data and did not include UW-Madison.
Kelly Meyerhofer has covered higher education in Wisconsin since 2018. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.
Source: UW schools will use stricter guide to decide whether to cut programs