In an email sent out to University of Idaho staff and faculty, President Scott C. Green has announced the final approval of recommendations from the Program Prioritization Task Force for closing, merging and restructuring programs.
Across campus, 338 programs have been evaluated by the taskforce in the Academic Program Prioritization process, with recommendations sent to the president at its conclusion. Green has approved the recommendations for the following three programs, resulting in one closure and two mergers.
All Materials Science programs and degrees will be closed, but current Materials Science students will be taught out to degree completion.
In the Music discipline, individual programs or emphases will be reviewed to then implement a consolidation plan. Consolidated programs will incorporate additional budget reductions.
The Geology and Geography departments will be merged with the integration of their programs.
Green said he offered to meet with each program before coming to these final decisions. He also heard opinions from faculty and program leadership.
In addition to these three program areas, Green also approved recommendations for additional programs.
- 39 programs will remain under ongoing monitoring.
- Three programs will be restructured.
- Eight academic units will be merged into four.
- Ten programs will be closed, eight being submitted for closure voluntarily by college deans.
With the cuts, Program Prioritization is expected to save $1,519,000 million in helping deans meet the overall $15.74 million in budget reduction goals, Green said in the email.
“While cost savings is not the main reason for engaging in this process, it is an outcome that is especially helpful in the current environment,” Green said in the email.
Green also acknowledged the effects the final decisions of Program Prioritization will have on faculty and students.
“We value every program at U of I and those who work within them, which makes these decisions even more difficult,” Green said in the email. “Despite our best attempts at mitigation, though, they will have a real impact on our students and the careers of our colleagues.”
Haadiya Tariq can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @haadiyatariq