Hundreds of Indiana University degree programs at risk of disappearing
Indiana University could lose hundreds of degree programs as part of compliance with an array of new laws affecting higher education that passed at the 11th hour of the legislative session.
One of the laws requires public colleges and universities to eliminate programs with low numbers of degrees averaged over a three-year period.
The cutoff is 15 graduates for a bachelor’s degree, seven for a master’s and three for a doctorate.
Based on federal data from 2023, around 200 BA, MA and PhD programs at IU Bloomington fell short. WFIU/WTIU News does not have data for degrees conferred in the two years since and IU has not commented on programs at risk.
So far, most faculty don’t know what to expect. President-elect of the Bloomington Faculty Council Heather Akou said she hasn’t heard anything from the university but that it’s “aggressively” moving to get in line with the law. “There are going to be big changes for this university, and the pace at which this is being pushed through is not designed for positive outcomes,” she said. “I have to say that my faculty colleagues are in panic to a degree that I have never seen before.”
Most of the degrees with low numbers of recipients are in the humanities and languages. Jewish Studies, Classical Studies and multiple language departments could lose their main offerings. From 2020 to 2022, IU Bloomington conferred more humanities doctorates than any other university in the country, according to data from Carnegie Classifications. It also ranks first for number of languages taught, for now. New STEM programs in areas deemed critical to the state also failed to reach the threshold in 2022-23. Those included artificial intelligence, microbiology and cyber operations and warfare.
The law allows universities to petition the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) for exceptions. If it doesn’t give approval, the institution is responsible for eliminating the program and “any costs associated” with it. Akou said she wished the university had sought input from faculty on how to comply. “They could absolutely choose to delegate, but it seems like they’re preparing not to and to just completely keep faculty in the dark and to be even less transparent than they have been,” she said.
To comply with the law while preserving courses and faculty, campus units may propose merging degree programs. Instead of receiving a BA in French, for example, a student might instead get a degree in Modern European Languages. Any new degrees would have to be approved by the IU Board of Trustees, which is scheduled to meet next on Sept. 11.
Lawmakers inserted the new rule on degrees into the state budget alongside other measures targeting higher education and IU in particular. For example, it relegates IU’s faculty governments to a purely “advisory role,” effectively ending professors’ ability to shape policy. While the author of those changes to the state budget remains unknown, Gov. Mike Braun defended the revisions as “giving good value and degrees that have a market here in the state.”
The law goes into effect July 1, but the deadline for complying is unclear. IU hasn’t released information about what will happen to students already pursuing those degrees or whether double majors will count toward a degree’s total.
“Even tenured faculty are wondering, am I going to have a job in two months?” Akou said. “We’re scheduled to teach classes. Will I be allowed to teach the classes I’m scheduled to teach this fall? I don’t know. That’s really the level of chaos and confusion that’s going on right now.”
The university declined an interview, but spokesperson Mark Bode wrote in an email that “IU is working with campus leaders to comply with the process mandated by state law.”
In 2023, 359 undergraduates and 218 graduate students received degrees in programs with low numbers conferred.
