Program Closures Around the Country

Reductions in state support are forcing public colleges and universities across the country to raise tuition and fees. A small but growing number of institutions are also acting on financial grounds to eliminate undergraduate majors, graduate programs, or even entire academic departments.

In an effort to document this troubling trend, Academe has created an interactive map that tracks media coverage of program closures that have occurred or been proposed since the current financial crisis began in 2008.

The map, although not comprehensive, provides an overview of local and national reporting on program closures across the country. It is designed to complement three issues of Academe that look at financial and administrative challenges facing colleges and universities: the July–August issue on the attack on workers’ rights, the September–October issue on the state of the humanities, and the upcoming November–December issue on rebuilding public universities.

Have you seen an article about program closures at an institution that is not on the map? If so, send me an e-mail with a link to the article and help Academe keep the map up to date.