University of Utah slashing 81 academic programs under budget cuts

The U. is the last school in the state to provide a specific list of what majors, minors and certificates are on the chopping block.

The University of Utah will discontinue 81 academic programs — from foreign languages to theater and dance — in response to the Legislature’s mandate to cut higher education budgets.

And the state’s flagship institution is expected to slash even more in the coming weeks.

The U. released its preliminary program cuts on Tuesday, as part of its monthly board of trustees agenda, delineating for the first time what is on the chopping block. It’s the last school in the state to do, with the seven other public colleges and universities providing those details this spring.

University of Utah President Taylor Randall has previously said it’s been difficult for the large research institution to figure out what to cut, given the federal funding uncertainties under the Trump administration.

But all schools are required to meet an Aug. 18 deadline to tell the Legislature specifically what will be eliminated.

The process started earlier this year when state lawmakers voted to cut $60.5 million from the higher education budget, with the directive to schools to cut “inefficient” majors — or programs that have few graduates and lead to lower paying jobs.

Institutions can eventually get the money back under provisions in HB265, but only if they show the funds will be reinvested in high-wage degrees that lead to jobs the state needs.

The U. has the largest share of the cuts, at $19.6 million.

Its board of trustees approved the program cuts unanimously Tuesday without any discussion.

But in a memo attached to the list, the school’s academic leadership under Provost Mitzi Montoya said the decisions were based on “data-informed analysis.” The school targeted degrees and certificates “that have little to no recent enrollment or degree conferrals.”

That follows the direction of the Legislature, which pushed schools to use data to trim offerings with low student interest.

Many faculty had feared any metrics would disproportionately affect the liberal arts — and that has happened at every school, now including the U.

Most of the degree cuts there are in the College of Humanities, which lost 22 programs. Of those, 16 were specifically in the Middle East Studies Program. Most were around languages or language teaching, such as a German teaching bachelor’s degree. (Similarly, the chemistry and biology teaching degrees in the College of Science were cut.)

Another eight program cuts are in the College of Fine Arts, including a Ph.D. in theater and the master’s degrees in ballet and modern dance. Seven cuts affect the College of Social and Behavioral Science.

Overall, most of the affected degrees are master’s and doctorates. And many of the changes will mean consolidating programs and dropping some specialities, such as a Ph.D. in experimental pathology at the School of Medicine. A handful of certificates in mining engineering have also been terminated for being “outdated.”

Montoya said in recent blog posts that the plans align with her efforts she’s called Mission-Aligned Planning, or MAP, to make the U. more efficient.

“Because of our persistent efforts, we have been able to consider and respond to the mandates and spirit of HB265 in a deliberate and planful way,” she wrote.

Before the list went to the trustees, the executive committee of the U.’s Academic Senate, which represents faculty on campus, reviewed the program cuts.

Academic Senate President Richard Preiss wrote in a letter to the trustees that each of the 81 programs to be slashed had either zero or one student graduate over the last eight years.

Preiss said it was a collaborative process with faculty to get to the listed cuts. And he anticipates reviewing at least five more cut recommendations next week.

“We recognize that there will be further, more painful rounds of cuts and restructurings, but we hope this can serve as a precedent and a model,” he said.

At an earlier presentation to the Utah Board of Higher Education, the U. had said it was cutting 94 majors, minors or certificates.

The school has committed to teaching out any cut programs for students already enrolled, or providing clear transitions to similar degrees.