Public colleges across Indiana are phasing out or merging low-demand degree programs as part of a statewide higher education reform. Photo from Dom Fou, Unsplash.

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — Six of Indiana’s public colleges and universities are cutting or consolidating more than 400 academic degree programs ahead of a new state law that takes effect this week, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education announced Monday, June 30.

Officials said the “voluntary” changes target degree programs with low student participation. The cuts are intended to help students focus on more in-demand fields and to comply early with the new state budget, which now sets minimum enrollment and completion thresholds for all degree programs offered at public institutions.

Nearly one in five degree programs will be eliminated, suspended or merged across six institutions: Ball State University, Indiana State University, Indiana University, Ivy Tech Community College, Purdue University and the University of Southern Indiana.

Currently, the schools collectively offer about 3,400 academic programs, according to CHE. Of those, roughly 2,200 are degree programs at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral level. As of Monday, 408 degree programs are on the chopping block.

Gov. Mike Braun praised the move as a way to modernize Indiana’s higher education system.

“In just the past month, our state institutions have taken bold, proactive steps to increase the value of higher education for both students and families,” Braun said in a Monday, June 30 afternoon statement. “This will help students make more informed decisions about the degree they want to pursue and ensure there is a direct connection between the skills students are gaining through higher education and the skills they need most.”

Examples of impacted programs include:

• Indiana University Bloomington: Several undergraduate and graduate degrees in foreign languages — such as French, German, and Russian — will be suspended or consolidated.

• Purdue University West Lafayette: Low-enrollment master’s and Ph.D. programs in areas like literature, microbiology and mathematics were merged or will phase out.

• Ball State University: Suspended programs include an English Ph.D. program and bachelor’s in international business. exercise psychology. Multiple undergraduate education programs are also on track for consolidation.

• Indiana State University: Eliminated programs include the M.A. in history and M.S. in political science.

• Ivy Tech: Impacted programs include associate degrees in public safety, nanotechnology and machine repair.

• University of Southern Indiana: Among the affected programs were an associate’s degree in early childhood education, the M.A. in liberal studies and an undergraduate electronic business degree.

Programs were evaluated based on enrollment and completion data. According to CHE’s latest degree reduction report, 75 programs were eliminated outright, including 68 with zero students currently enrolled. Another 101 were suspended, and 232 were consolidated or merged into other academic offerings.

The bulk of the cuts were reported at Indiana University, where 249 degree programs will be affected. Purdue University followed with 83 programs. Ball State submitted 51 programs, and Indiana State reported 11. Ivy Tech, the state’s two-year community college system, is taking action on 10 programs. The University of Southern Indiana reported four.

Students currently enrolled in any of the eliminated or suspended programs will be allowed to finish their degrees through a teach-out process, officials said.

After Tuesday, July 1, colleges must seek commission approval to continue offering underperforming programs that fall below statutory benchmarks.