NU Board of Regents votes to eliminate low-enrollment programs

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents voted to eliminate several majors, certificates and graduate programs during its Thursday meeting.

The cuts were made at all four campuses due to low enrollment and graduation rates. Students currently enrolled in any of the programs will be able to complete them. There is no loss of faculty with the cuts.

It was stated at the meeting that the only cost savings associated with the cuts comes from not having to fund overload pay to faculty who were doing extra to teach classes for one of the executive business analytics graduate certificates at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, which amounts to $42,000.

The cuts include:

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science degrees in Ethnic Studies
• Bachelor of Science in Insect Science

University of Nebraska Medical Center

• Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Medical Nutrition Education
• Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Infectious Disease Epidemiology

University of Nebraska at Kearney

• Master of Arts in Physical Education Exercise Science
• Master of Science in Long Term Care Management

University of Nebraska at Omaha

• Executive Business Analytics Graduate Certificate
• Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Master of Science in Urban Studies

Several additional programs were cut at UNL last December and UNK earlier this year.

In those cases, programs that were targeted had low numbers, but the cuts also saved millions of dollars.

In a statement prior to the meeting, the university said that while the eliminations don't save much money, they do provide other savings.

"While every situation is different, eliminating a low-enrollment major does not mean there are no savings related to faculty and staff time. A major requires careful student advising, recruiting, marketing, etc.," the statement said. "Savings are not usually accrued in the traditional sense, but such eliminations do allow individuals to refocus their efforts towards enhancing classroom experiences, advising a larger cohort of students (in departments with multiple majors), redirection of efforts around research/outreach, or development of new courses and programs that have significant student demand."

The eliminations come as the University of Nebraska system faces $29 million in sudden budget cuts. In a memo released in June, Gov. Jim Pillen said his State Budget Division would withhold at least 5% of monthly allocations to state-funded departments. NU President Jeffrey Gold said the order to state leaders that they freeze their hiring processes and reduce their spending will have “significant” impacts on the university.

By wall of full disclosure, members of the Nebraska Public Media newsroom are UNL employees.