UW weighs elimination of 16 degree programs

French and German degrees are among several low enrollment programs UW could slash in 2024. Some degrees might be combined with other programs or otherwise reworked.

Several degree tracks at the University of Wyoming are on the chopping block — from bachelor’s in French and German to various Ph.D. programs in Education — as the institution looks to cut low-enrollment programs.

All in all, 16 degree programs are up for elimination or consolidation:

College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources

• B.S. in Zoology and Physiology

College of Arts and Sciences

• B.A. in French

• B.A. in German

• M.A. in Philosophy

• M.A. in Sociology

• B.A. in Psychology

College of Education

• Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration

• M.S. in Instructional Technology

• Ph.D. in Instructional Technology

• Ed.D. in Adult & Post-Secondary Education

• Ph.D. in Education-Literacy Education

• Ph.D. in Education-Mathematics Education

• Ph.D. in Education-Science Education

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

• B.A. in Geology & Earth Sciences

• B.A. in Mathematics

• B.A. in Statistics

UW monitors program enrollment and identifies those with low enrollment for further scrutiny on an annual basis.

According to university regulations, “low enrollment” is defined as having fewer than five graduates per year for undergraduate programs, or fewer than three graduates per year for master’s programs, over a five-year average.

The Office of Academic Affairs started gathering this year’s data in early January. For 2023, the office turned up 26 undergraduate and 34 graduate degrees that qualified as low-completion programs. Once that list is compiled, UW college deans have six months to justify the continuation of any of those programs and provide further insight. 

This period can be a chance for deans to highlight additional facts that might help explain low graduation numbers — such as more favorable overall enrollment numbers — while also providing the Academic Affairs office with suggestions for cutting, reorganizing, keeping, or consolidating the considered programs. 

After this six-month period, the Academic Affairs office recommends a smaller list of programs for elimination or consolidation to the UW Board of Trustees, where ultimate decision-making power resides. This November, Academic Affairs put forward the list of 16 programs, carved out of the earlier list of nearly 60 low-enrollment degrees. 

University policy provides a 120-day review period before the UW Board of Trustees meets in March to decide these programs’ fates.   

Some deans have worked with departments under their college to consolidate or reorganize endangered degrees before the board vote in March.

The Modern & Classical Languages department has two degrees on the chopping block — its French B.A. and German B.A. — which, if cut, would leave the department with only a single bachelor’s degree offering remaining, in Spanish. So, the department has proposed combining the French and German language degrees into a four-year European Languages, Literature, and Film Studies degree.

“We will still teach French and German, and we will teach freshman and sophomore level classes,” UW Provost Kevin Carman said. “In the languages department proposal, this new degree program eliminates several classes that are taught at the upper division level and creates a few new ones related to film studies, etc. It would streamline the classes we offer, but students who wish to take French and German will still be able to take French and German.”

For other degrees on the list, their department could still offer a bachelor's of science in place of an eliminated bachelor's of arts.

Students enrolled in discontinued programs will be allowed to finish their education before the program's complete elimination.

Consolidating programs, departments, and even colleges has been a frequent move by the university in the past several years as the university weathers budget cuts in the post-COVID era and plummeting enrollment.

Despite the possible elimination or consolidation of 16 programs on the horizon, the UW Board of Trustees has received notices of intent for the creation of several new potential degrees, including nuclear energy certificates, a master’s in artificial intelligence, and a doctorate in English. The trustees also greenlit a new bachelor’s degree in ranch management.