Program cuts could be determined by spring

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Dozens of recommended cuts to campus programs and departments have yet to be referred to Academic Governance committees for deliberation, but university officials hope to make final decisions by the end of next semester.

MSU Provost Kim Wilcox announced the possible cuts at the MSU Board of Trustees meeting Friday as part of an effort to deal with shrinking funds and to support activities that will enhance the university’s future.

The Departments of Communicative Sciences and Disorders and Geological Sciences were included in the recommended cuts, along with numerous other programs such as American Studies and retailing.

The next steps in the process of approving the cuts will include referrals to the appropriate committees, Wilcox said at the Executive Committee of Academic Council, or ECAC, meeting Tuesday.

“I tried to make my recommendations in the middle of the semester, which I think, in many cases, would allow us by the end of the spring semester to have come to a decision,” he said.

Wilcox said there was no time line for the process.

“Each one moves at its own pace,” he said. “Some, of course, require more conversation, they’re more complex than others.”

Once college deans have requested the suspension of admissions to academic programs, Wilcox will consult with appropriate academic governing bodies before acting on the moratorium requests.

Requests to discontinue programs also are sent to Wilcox, who would consult Academic Governance. Wilcox then would make a final decision with MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon.

Similarly, for possible discontinuance of academic departments, requests are given to Wilcox, who will refer them to Academic Governance for review after consulting leaders within the departments.

Academic Governance then will advise Wilcox, who will make a recommendation to Simon. Simon then will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, who will have the final say in whether the programs will be cut.

The University Committee on Academic Policy, or UCAP, deals primarily with undergraduate programs and the graduate council deals with graduate programs, Wilcox said.

Martin Crimp, UCAP chairman, said the committee will play an advisory role.

Linda Good, chairwoman of the University Committee on Curriculum, said her committee has not received any recommendations.

“The minute they are on agenda, we will meet with (Wilcox) and we have already made a commitment that we will proceed as quickly as possible,” she said.

Crimp said he expects some of the recommendations could reach UCAP by the end of December and he understands the stress students might feel in light of the possible cuts.

“All these things are difficult and I’ve been through this difficult process,” he said. “It’s gets an upheaval for students, but in many ways a lot of upheaval for faculty.”

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