To create programs that meet the evolving needs of students, UW-Stevens Point proposes shifting resources from programs where fewer students are enrolled. Discontinuing the following programs is recommended:
• American Studies
• Art – Graphic Design will continue as a distinct major
• English – English for teacher certification will continue
• French
• Geography
• Geoscience
• German
• History – Social Science for teacher certification will continue
• Music Literature
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Sociology — Social Work major will continue
• Spanish
The list of programs that are proposed to be expanded is interesting.
?? American studies
44 art (includes graphic design which is not proposed to be cut)
41 English
03 French
16 geography
09 geosciences (geology)
05 German
20 history
00 music literature
13 philosophy
20 political science
57 sociology
25 Spanish
For the majors proposed to add capacity:
06 chemical engineering
41 computer information systems (information technology)
?? conservation law enforcement (117 for natural resources management and policy)
?? finance (159 for general business administration)
?? fire science (117 for natural resources management and policy)
?? graphic design (44 for art including graphic design)
?? management (159 for general business administration)
?? marketing (159 for general business administration)
Several of the new majors are in natural resources and conservation, whose majors had 322 bachelor’s graduates in 2016-2017.
The biggest groupings of majors, in terms of 2016-2017 bachelor’s graduates:
322 natural resources and conservation
182 health professions
176 education
175 business
161 biological and biomedical sciences
121 visual and performing arts
118 social sciences
The music, theater, education, and STEM programs will still be strong. It’s pretty hard for a school to run a major like German with only 5 graduates per year and provide a quality program, and you really have to decide if it is cost effective to do so.
I’d rather see the university system decide that all German majors should go to UW EC and all forestry majors should go to UWSP than to spread the resources so thin that the programs are only so-so at each branch. I’d bet those 25 Spanish majors didn’t flock to Stevens Point (not Steven’s) for the great Spanish program but are either locals or started in a different major and landed in Spanish or have a double major in something else like education too.
That can make sense from running the schools efficiently and effectively in an academic sense, but it can also create or worsen affordability problems for students who are not within commuting range of the designated school that has their desired majors.
But schools can’t serve everyone. The student who has to commute to a particular school can only choose from the majors offered. I’d rather see a school offer 10 strong majors than 20 where the courses are only offered by adjuncts (hard to do with languages because the local population may not have the skills to offer Spanish), and maybe only offered once a year or once every other year.
UWSP has a musical theater program that only admits 8 students per year. MANY people would like to see that number increased. A local might want UWSP to offer nursing or engineering or art history but the school just can’t do it because of economics.
In addition, new bachelor’s (or advanced) degree programs are proposed in:
• Aquaculture/Aquaponics
• Captive Wildlife
• Ecosystem Design and Remediation
• Environmental Engineering
• Geographic Information Science
• Master of Business Administration
• Master of Natural Resources
• Doctor of Physical Therapy
I’m scratching my head at a couple of them - some of them seem like they could be options under existing majors. For example, ecosystem restoration and management is already an option under their forestry program, and there is already a wildlife ecology program (is Captive Wildlife something like zoo management?).
I guess the move from Geography to GIS makes sense.
Oh - I’m in favor of efficiency in terms of state systems. That said, my kid was looking at UW-SP as a safety exactly because the music and theater programs really are so strong for a small state school. The faculty and quality in those departments is really impressive. But if the liberal arts portion of your education there is weaker, well, I feel like it weakens the strength of those programs.
Steven’s Point in in the center of the state and not a high population center so not being able to complete a given major while commuting there is not a reason to keep a low yield major. The concept of different state schools offering different majors makes sense. I wonder if the foreign languages will still have any classes- especially for those who want to add Spanish language courses to their major. Instat4e students choosing among the similar caliber state schools will have other choices that likely have similar costs (except for the few who would commute and not be able to choose certain majors).
The humanities courses will still be offered, but they aren’t going to offer majors in those subjects. Still can get minors and certificates, which many students get as part of their teaching degrees. UWSP was originally a Normal school and continues to have many education majors. It also became big in natural resources and many student major in soil and water (mud majors), forestry, agriculture. Music and theater are good too.
My daughter goes to a STEM school and while the school offers Spanish and history and English courses, it doesn’t offer majors in those subjects. Harvard doesn’t offer an undergrad business degree. Schools under 10,000 undergrads can’t offer everything.
Again, it is not Steven’s point but Stevens Point. If you insist on an apostrophe, it would be Stevens’ Point as the man’s name was Stevens. But no apostrophe. Like Nordstrom.
“English – English for teacher certification will continue” – I would have thought majoring in English would be pretty key to preparing to be an English teacher…
I too am surprised that they’re dropping geology and geography in favor of such overspecialized majors in natural resources. Most colleges offer GIS only as a certificate track within geography.