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‘My colleagues and I are still in shock.’ 32 majors marked for elimination at WVU
West Virginia Watch ^ | 8/11/23 | Amelia Knisely

Posted on 08/12/2023 6:19:32 PM PDT by CFW

West Virginia University leaders have recommended discontinuing 32 of its majors at its Morgantown campus as the school is feverishly working to make up for a multi-million budget shortfall.

The preliminary recommendations, released Friday afternoon, said 12 of those programs are undergraduate majors and 20 are graduate-level majors. Other programs were told to reduce their faculty size — 169 faculty jobs are on the line for cuts.

Programs marked for discontinuation included: master’s and doctorate in Mathematics; master’s and doctorate in Higher Education Administration; master’s of Public Administration; master’s of fine arts in Creative Writing; and a bachelor’s in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Resources.

The Department of World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, which includes Spanish, Russian and Chinese studies, was marked to be completely dissolved.

“My colleagues and I are still in shock; it’s inconceivable that our state flagship, R1, land-grant university, the place where we’ve all built our homes, careers and lives is completely eliminating the teaching of languages,” said Lisa Di Bartolomeo, a teaching professor of Russian Studies.

(Excerpt) Read more at westvirginiawatch.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; US: West Virginia
KEYWORDS: closures; college; education; hihgered; westvirginia; wokebroke
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Some of us have predicted that many colleges will be closing or merging over the next few years. I actually started predicting this in about 2015 and had expected more closures by now. Not all closures make national news and there have been more than some people realize but not as many as I thought there would be at this time. The place to really make a difference though would be the highly-paid administrative staff.

I don't see any DIE or Women's Basket Weaving studies being canceled, but maybe this college had not yet added those courses.

It's a shame to see Mathematics cut but it may be that these are courses that should have been taught in high school. Or, that no one is signing up for the math classes so it is a waste of funds to pay faculty to teach those courses. But, I'm glad to see these two on the chopping block:

PhD Higher Education

EdD Higher Education Administration

1 posted on 08/12/2023 6:19:32 PM PDT by CFW
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To: CFW

Is gender studies on the cut list?


2 posted on 08/12/2023 6:21:34 PM PDT by bigdaddy45
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To: CFW

Well, bye.


3 posted on 08/12/2023 6:22:33 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is ████ █ ██████ ███████ ███ ██████ ██ ████████. FJB.)
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To: CFW

related article from 8/8/23:

“WVU president Gee to step down in 2025 “

https://westvirginiawatch.com/briefs/wvu-president-gee-to-step-down-in-2025/

“Last week, the WVU Board of Governors voted to extend Gee’s contract through June 20, 2025. His base salary is $800,000.

University leaders plan to cut 12 graduate and doctorate programs and is evaluating nearly half of its academic programs to make up for the budget deficit. Additionally, officials identified 590 full-time faculty member positions they will review under the departments up for evaluation; roughly 130 jobs will be cut as part of a $7 million in staff reduction.

Academic department leaders have turned in their self-evaluations, which university leaders will use to determine what programs will be cut.

The board is expected to vote Sept. 15 on what programs to discontinue and an appeals process will follow. “


4 posted on 08/12/2023 6:22:41 PM PDT by CFW (I will not comply!)
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To: bigdaddy45

“Is gender studies on the cut list?”


I didn’t see gender studies on the list. Is there hope that they did not have such a course in the first place?


5 posted on 08/12/2023 6:23:46 PM PDT by CFW (I will not comply!)
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To: CFW

I went there for a four day weekend. I almost died.
I have no clue how anyone graduates.


6 posted on 08/12/2023 6:25:00 PM PDT by EEGator
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To: CFW

No, but they are cutting Mathematics.


7 posted on 08/12/2023 6:25:44 PM PDT by Fido969 (45 is Superman! )
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To: CFW

The decisions regarding which programs to discontinue were based on student enrollment trends, enrollment in majors and departments, and department-level metrics including full-time faculty-to-student ratio and programs’ financial status.


Sounds reasonable.

No indication wokeness eliminated though.


8 posted on 08/12/2023 6:25:46 PM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: CFW

But where will the next generation of “Dr.”
Jill Bidens, EdD come from?!?


9 posted on 08/12/2023 6:27:42 PM PDT by j.havenfarm (22 years on Free Republic, 12/10/22! more then 6500 replies and still not shutting up!)
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To: CFW
Programs be discontinued, according to preliminary results: MA Higher Education Administration MA Multicategorical Special Education PhD Higher Education EdD Higher Education Administration MM Collaborative Piano MM Composition MM Jazz Pedagogy MFA Acting PhD Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences MLS Legal Studies MPA Public Administration MS Mathematics PhD Mathematics MFA Creative Writing MS Energy Environments PhD Resource Management BSR Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources BS Environmental and Community Planning BSLA Landscape Architecture MSLA Landscape Architecture

The MS and PhD in Math are the only real loss, and I'm guessing that is because they do not have sufficient enrollment to justify faculty / infrastructure.

10 posted on 08/12/2023 6:28:08 PM PDT by LambSlave
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To: CFW

Women’s and gender studies seems to be going strong:

https://womensgenderstudies.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff


11 posted on 08/12/2023 6:29:12 PM PDT by Fido969 (45 is Superman! )
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To: CFW
Sounds like the degrees for New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut students who wanted to go away for the "college experience" which sadly, could be better than they'd get in their home state.

Once schools went remote during the COVID-1984 lockdowns, how would such a school come back?

12 posted on 08/12/2023 6:30:27 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: Fido969

“No, but they are cutting Mathematics.”

I wonder whether the Masters and Doctorate was in real math or (ptui-ptui) math eddikashun? You know, the type that’s supposed to compensate for all that corrupt white supremacist real stuff that’s quite difficult.


13 posted on 08/12/2023 6:30:43 PM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: LambSlave
The MS and PhD in Math are the only real loss, and I'm guessing that is because they do not have sufficient enrollment to justify faculty / infrastructure.

That was my thinking as well. There is no reason to pay for higher math faculty is no one is signing up for the courses.
14 posted on 08/12/2023 6:31:00 PM PDT by CFW (I will not comply!)
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To: CFW

https://www.thedaonline.com/news/wvu-continues-to-experience-declining-enrollment-despite-increase-in-retention/article_1f458cd8-f953-11ec-b526-cbf88bb92e20.html

WVU has experienced a decrease in enrollment over the past seven years due to population decline in the state of West Virginia


confirmation on that from anyone?


15 posted on 08/12/2023 6:31:12 PM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: CFW

It’s all about the bottom line. If students were paying for the classes, they’d still be offered. It has nothing to do with ethics or practicality.


16 posted on 08/12/2023 6:31:13 PM PDT by LouAvul (Daniel 4:17: "..the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.." )
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To: CFW

The courses being cut in Mathematics are graduate level courses which are not expected to be taught in high school. The likely reason is that there are few if any applicants for grad degrees. The subject matter can be very esoteric.


17 posted on 08/12/2023 6:34:00 PM PDT by wrcase
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To: LambSlave

My granddaughter goes there Ag business major.


18 posted on 08/12/2023 6:36:50 PM PDT by griswold3 (Truth, Beauty and Goodness )
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To: CFW
I actually started predicting this in about 2015 and had expected more closures by now.

Universities celebrated America's declining birth rate and access to "women's health care," but this has resulted in a major decline in college and university admissions, and it will continue to get worse in the next 20 years. Higher education sometimes has trouble comprehending cause and effect.

19 posted on 08/12/2023 6:37:32 PM PDT by Right_Wing_Madman
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To: CFW

Board of Governors voted to extend Gee’s contract through June 20, 2025. His base salary is $800,000.... That is at least double that of the President of the USA, if I am not mistaken. They cut in the wrong place to begin with.


20 posted on 08/12/2023 6:37:43 PM PDT by Bookshelf
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