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Key Takeaways
- Ohio University plans to phase out 11 degree programs and merge 18 others due to the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, which mandates cuts for programs with low enrollment.
- Both a faculty union leader and a conservative economist express some support for the mergers, citing potential improvements in program quality and preservation of faculty jobs.
- The proposed changes include consolidating overlapping degrees, such as eliminating a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry while retaining a Bachelor of Science in the same field.
- Concerns remain among faculty about the wider implications of the cuts, especially related to the lack of response from university administration regarding the changes.
A right-leaning economist and a faculty union leader at Ohio University both agree that some program mergers proposed on campus may be necessary, according to comments given to The College Fix.
Within the next year the public university in Athens will phase out 11 degree programs. The school also plans to merge 18 similar degrees together if the state approves. The school also will ask for permission to continue seven programs on their own.
The changes are due to a new law called the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act which requires the elimination of undergraduate degrees without “at least five annual conferrals on average over the last three years,” according to a university news release. The legislation also places limits on DEI, which has drawn some criticism.
Spokeswoman Donielle Flynn declined to comment, directing The Fix instead to the media relations team. It did not respond to two emailed requests for the comment in the past week. Flynn also told The Fix professors were not allowed to answer questions on their own, but all inquiries must be directed to the media team.
However, an economics professor at the university said he views the changes as generally positive.
“The only way this benefits students is if colleges are spread thin,” Richard Vedder told The Fix via phone call. “This benefits students by forcing [the university] to do fewer things better, and I think there is an element of quality control with that.”
Vedder has written extensively about higher education economics.
He shared that his own department has several degrees that overlap. The school plans to ask for permission to continue its bachelor’s in economics, which Vedder said is the “main bachelor’s degree” in the field.
“But we also offer a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics–and the two degrees are nearly identical,” Vedder said.
Condensing the degrees would involve only a minimal change in coursework and would not affect students, Vedder said.
Many of the degrees proposed for suspension have similar counterpart programs that will continue. For example, the university wants to eliminate a B.A. in chemistry while keeping a B.S. in the same field. The same goes for degrees in geological sciences, math, and physics. Other programs may be merged, such as separate music related degrees in organ, piano, voice, and theatre, according to the university’s news release.
A faculty union leader said the proposed changes raise concerns among members but that it appears professor jobs will be preserved.
Historian John O’Keefe leads the campus American Association of University Professors chapter.
He told The Fix via email “it does appear that in many cases smaller majors/programs are being incorporated into larger majors/programs in ways that preserve faculty positions, at least for now.”
The faculty union is still gathering information from its members to confirm the full impact of these cuts,” O’Keefe said.
He said the union opposed other parts of the education reform bill, but legislators “chose to ignore their constituents.”
A research fellow with the Buckeye Institute, a conservative think tank that supported the legislation, provided further analysis of the bill.
“The legislator has the right to make certain determinations because they get certain tax dollars,” Greg Lawson told The Fix during a phone interview. He said it is important for universities to become more efficient, ensuring there is a return on the taxpayer’s investments.
Lawson has worked for the state government. He also regularly writes and researches about government spending and waste.
He said Ohio public universities have seen a decline in enrollment.
“The reason why these programs and higher education exist is to educate these folks, and the reason why people choose to go to university is to get a degree that they can then use to get a job,” Lawson said.
“You have to produce something for students,” Lawson said. “If you’re not producing something for the graduates, that product is not justifiable for what is good for the students.”
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