February 12, 2008
USM considers cutting 26 programs
The University of Southern Maine may eliminate 26 bachelor and master's degree programs to help make up an $8.2 million budget shortfall.
The school is asking faculty in the targeted programs to develop life-saving plans that would boost those programs' enrollment and graduation rates, among other criteria, and present them to university officials by April 1, USM spokesman Robert Caswell told Mainebiz this morning. "This is the first step in the evaluation process, with the goal of making sure that programs are responsive to student demand and community needs," Caswell said.
After July 1, the university will make its final decision on whether to suspend admission to any of the programs, which range from a B.S. in Economics to a Master's in Computer Science. (See a complete list of programs in 'By the numbers', below.) The school has yet to calculate how much it would save if all these programs were eliminated.
Although tenured professors will not be affected, Caswell said part-time faculty could be cut and the school will save on administrative costs. In total, the 26 programs graduated 65 students last year and currently enroll 290. These students would not be affected. Total enrollment at the university is more than 10,000.
The school is asking faculty in the targeted programs to develop life-saving plans that would boost those programs' enrollment and graduation rates, among other criteria, and present them to university officials by April 1, USM spokesman Robert Caswell told Mainebiz this morning. "This is the first step in the evaluation process, with the goal of making sure that programs are responsive to student demand and community needs," Caswell said.
After July 1, the university will make its final decision on whether to suspend admission to any of the programs, which range from a B.S. in Economics to a Master's in Computer Science. (See a complete list of programs in 'By the numbers', below.) The school has yet to calculate how much it would save if all these programs were eliminated.
Although tenured professors will not be affected, Caswell said part-time faculty could be cut and the school will save on administrative costs. In total, the 26 programs graduated 65 students last year and currently enroll 290. These students would not be affected. Total enrollment at the university is more than 10,000.
Mainebiz web partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments