In order to save money and attract more students, the University of Toledo will be eliminating several undergraduate and graduate programs from its course offerings.
Scott Molitor, University of Toledo interim provost and executive president for Academic Affairs, said the programs being suspended have had low enrollment numbers.
“We decided that the better thing to do was to move professors to other programs and courses,” he said. “There was some duplication in the courses, and we felt it would be more efficient to not spread our faculty out all over the place.”
Mr. Molitor said the university supports health-related fields and aims to strengthen the master of public health program. The specialty programs being suspended will be combined under the general masters program.
“We believe it will make the program stronger,” he said. “The program will be more focused and we believe it will attract more students into the discipline.”
The bachelor degree programs targeted for elimination include French, German, media communication, urban studies, exercise science, pharmacy administration, pharmacology, and toxicology.
The master degree programs to be suspended include French, Spanish, German, art education, exercise science, and industrial engineering. Masters in public health epidemiology, public health policy and law, and health promotion and education also will be suspended.
Doctoral degrees in foundations of education psychology, and foundations of education are on the suspension list as well.
Mr. Molitor said the university has added a new health sciences program within the College of Health and Human Services that effectively replaces the previous exercise science major.
Concentrations within the program include pre-med, pre-physician assistant, pre-rehabilitation sciences, and pre-occupational therapy. There’s also a new social determinant of health concentration program, which focuses on the nonclinical factors that influence health.
“It is a more modern program,” he said. “We need to consolidate and reconfigure programs with existing programs to make them more marketable so we can attract more students.”
The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences has also launched a new baccalaureate program in radiation therapy.
According to information from the public information office, the program is the first undergraduate program wholly within the College of Medicine and Life Sciences. It will prepare students for careers as radiation therapists as one of just three such baccalaureate programs in the state of Ohio.
The program, which received state approval last month, is expected to offer its first introductory course this summer and enroll the initial cohort in fall 2024.
“Overall this will increase retention and enrollment,” Mr. Molitor said. “We believe this will attract more students to campus with the new programs.”
Dave Dignam, a retired UT professor and biochemist, said he was particularly disturbed by the potential elimination of programs in the humanities.
“I think this plan is ill-conceived and is likely being pushed by individuals with other motives than to save money” Mr. Dignam said. “I think this is a foolhardy decision being made by people who have a fundamental lack of understanding on how a university works.”
Mr. Dignam served in the department of biochemistry and cancer biology on the medical campus. He also served in the chemistry department on the main campus.
“I am not sure how this saves money,” he said. “And moving people to work in other departments? So, someone who teaches French will now go teach chemistry? The plan is just bad policy.”
Mr. Dignam said there is one way UT will save money.
“If you eliminate degrees you will also eliminate those who taught those classes,” he explained. “Now you can focus just on technical pursuits. This really is just an assault on the humanities. I could see if the faculty were consulted about all of this, but they were not.”
BGSU spokesman Michael Bratton said the university is not suspending any degree programs.
Cecilia Castellano, vice president for enrollment management at Bowling Green State University, said the university is focused on high demand programs like its aviation program.
“The program attracts a lot of students every year. We are creating programs that meet the needs of business and the work force,” she said.
The university has developed a doctor of physical therapy program. The only of its kind in Ohio, the two-year accelerated, hybrid program allows for coursework completion from virtually anywhere, Ms. Castellano said.
“The program draws students from all over because they can work from home for much of it,” she said. “They come to campus when it is time to do their clinicals.”
The university also now has a bachelor degree in criminal justice and a registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing degree program that are offered online as well.
“We are meeting our students where they said they need to be,” she said. “We are bridging gaps between students and businesses. That is why our enrollment has been increasing.”
Bowling Green also has updated many programs in the College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering. The first cohorts in robotics engineering, electronic and computer engineering, and mechanical and manufacturing engineering will start classes in the fall.
First Published February 12, 2024, 3:00 p.m.
