University of Iowa seeks to cut 7 degrees

Dive Brief:

The University of Iowa aims to cut six undergraduate academic programs and a master’s program after performing a state-mandated review for low-enrollment fields, leaders told the Iowa Board of Regents Wednesday.
The programs include bachelor’s degrees in women’s studies, applied physics and three language programs, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in African American studies.
UI Provost Kevin Kregel said the institution plans to seek formal approval of the cuts at an April board meeting. Officials at Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa also shared plans to request program cuts in the future through their own review processes.

Dive Insight:

In a presentation to regents Wednesday, Kregel pointed to declining or “consistently” low enrollment in the degree programs officials are looking to close, all of which are housed in the university’s liberal arts and sciences college.

Each program’s current enrollment falls well below the thresholds of over 25 students for undergraduate programs and over 10 for graduate programs, both set in a November regents report on workforce alignment last year. 

The university’s Russian program, for instance, had 10 students enrolled as majors, while its African American Studies bachelor’s degree had nine. The African American World Studies master’s degree had no students. 

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean instructors are teaching to empty classrooms. Most courses in UI’s African American undergraduate program, for example, double as classes in other programs, such as history or music. 

At UI, leaders aren’t cutting everything with low enrollment. In the November report, the university had identified 29 programs — 13 undergraduate and 16 graduate — that fell below the minimum thresholds. 

Along with considering things like workforce alignment and licensure requirements, officials have made other allowances. The religious studies department, for example, will combine with the university’s classics program by Fall 2026, Kregel said, adding that officials want to give the combined major a chance for success. 

UI’s French major initially had enrollment below the threshold but has increased its students to more than 30. 

“The faculty in that program were really engaged and have been over the last year able to increase their major numbers,” Kregel said. “We are going to make sure that they have the opportunity to continue to grow.

The university is also trying to account for student interest by keeping courses in certain fields and offering minors. UI plans to continue offering minors in African American and women’s studies, Kregel said. However, it will seek to shutter the programs’ corresponding departments — African American Studies and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies — at the end of the current academic year, pending board approval.

Iowa’s other public universities are undergoing a similar process. 

Iowa State Provost Jason Keith said at the meeting his institution is currently working with faculty through shared governance processes to determine which programs to eliminate or consolidate with others. The university plans to request regents’ approval for program closures down the road, he said.

University of Northern Iowa, meanwhile, has already recently decided to merge or terminate nine programs, José Herrera, the university’s provost, told regents Wednesday. It’s currently designing a process for either eliminating or boosting the enrollment for programs that fall below regents’ thresholds.

Iowa is on a growing list of states — including Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Florida — that are cutting programs based on low enrollment or graduation levels. 

In both Ohio and Indiana, lawmakers last year passed laws directly requiring elimination for those programs that fall under thresholds for graduating a certain number of students in a specified timeframe. Those laws have already led to numerous eliminations.