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The courage to cut
Closing programs or saying no to proposals for new ones requires courage and vision, and ACTA supports trustees in their efforts to control program expansion. We have made the ratio of new programs to closed programs an element of our state public higher education report cards for university cost and effectiveness. ACTA is very happy that presenters at the Association of Governing Boards annual meeting recently encouraged the membership to consider deep, systemic cost control part of their fiduciary duties.
Unfortunately, we still hear too often the excuse that closing or consolidating programs only angers faculty and does not save money. It does save money, and, paradoxically, can also raise academic standards.
There are examples all over the country. Instead of terminating important, but low-enrollment majors, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education used inter-campus consolidation to deliver more opportunities for less money. Multiple campuses now team up to deliver the major. University of California campuses at Riverside, Irvine, and San Diego jointly offer a graduate program in Classics. In an age of interactive video and smart classrooms -- in which higher education has heavily invested -- there is no excuse whatsoever for failing to look for new efficiencies in delivering high-quality instruction.
Closing and consolidating programs can also enhance quality. Interdisciplinarity is the frontier of the academy, but sometimes it should mean not creating new programs but blending existing ones together. Cutting and consolidating similar majors and programs and offering team-taught, interdisciplinary introductory and capstone courses is not only economically efficient, but sound educational practice.
Trustees can make enduring contributions to their institutions by insisting on such bold restructuring and improvement. There has never been greater need for their strong guidance.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on March 24, 2010 at March 24, 2010 04:37 PM
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