By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bowling Green State University is continuing its state-mandated assessment of courses and programs that have low enrollment.
The reporting is required by House Bill 64, which seeks to increase efficiency on college campuses. Trustees approved the report, though because of the state deadline and the timing of trustee meetings, it has already been submitted.
BGSU administrators, Provost Rodney Rogers said, identified 24 degree programs that graduate fewer than 20 students over a four year period. Rogers said that 15 of those programs were deemed not to require further action. Several of them were new and already seeing increased growth.
Nine programs, however, were identified as possible candidates for major revision or elimination. The administration will work with department chairs and faculty to determine if “it makes sense for us to offer” these programs or whether they need to undergo revisions to make them fit more with societal needs, Rogers said.
The six programs on the Bowling Green campus identified were: bachelor of arts degrees in Russian, Latin, classical civilizations and music, and bachelor of science degrees in statistics and electro-mechanical systems technology.
Three associate degree programs at Firelands were also identified: electro-mechanical, EMT and manufacturing.
“The hard work is just beginning as we work with deans and chairs to make the next step,” Rogers said.
He noted that Venu Dasig, interim dean of the College of Technology, is already working with faculty to transition the electro-mechanical systems technology program into one with more emphasis on robotics.
The report also identified hundreds of courses deemed to have low enrollment.
The administration, Rogers said, identified 581 courses that met the low enrollment criteria.
It deemed 193 courses as needing no further action because they were upper level or lab sections which are expected to have low enrollments. Administrators will continue to monitor them.
Another 177 courses were identified where “there’s opportunity to better manage our curriculum,” he said. The question is whether there’s overlap with other courses.
Another 158 appear because there are multiple sections of the same course.
And 53 were seen as candidates for possible collaboration with Firelands or another institution.
Rogers said talks are underway with the University of Toledo about collaborating for upper level sections of foreign languages where there is “robust” enrollment in lower level courses and in information systems.
Deciding how many courses and sections to offer is a balancing act, he said. The administration needs to look at increasing the efficiency in course offerings in a way that “does not limit a student’s ability to complete a degree in a timely way.”
Rogers noted that BGSU identified fewer under-enrolled courses than other universities because it had recently streamlined its general education requirements.
