23-04-2025
No more ethnic, women and gender studies at WSU as state-mandated budget cuts start
Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. (Photo by)
The legislative-mandated search for efficiency in Utah universities is already changing how campuses are conducting work and the faces in their staff and faculty rosters.
The budget cuts have also led one institution to part ways with programs that have lately been controversial in academia, including ethnic studies, women and gender studies, and queer studies.
Gearing up for a May deadline to present 'strategic reinvestment' plans, Weber State University shared in a town hall on Monday with faculty and staff a preliminary path to cut the necessary $6.6 million to comply with HB265, a recent law requiring Utah universities to cut 10% of their instructional budget to later invest in other high-demand areas.
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The Weber State plans are still unofficial, but are contemplating terminating 11 administrative positions, 10 staff roles, and 28 faculty in addition to closing its West Center, which offered testing services, tutoring and computer labs.
The plans also entail eliminating 89 courses to save about $285,000.
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Early on, when HB265 was just a proposal, Weber State University president Brad Mortensen formed a committee to develop quantitative and qualitative criteria to assess programs, Bryan Magaña, a spokesperson for the institution, said on Tuesday.
'Data sets looked at a variety of factors: number of majors, number of graduates, retention outcomes, faculty-to-student ratio, median income of graduates in each field, projected job growth in each field, and much more,' Magaña wrote in an email.
Majors to be eliminated include different language programs, like French, German, and a professional and technical emphasis of the school's bachelor in English. Also some science programs will be cut, according to the plans, including applied environmental geosciences, applied physics and mathematics.
There are also seven certificates that may be discontinued, including biotechnician, ethics, facilities management, jazz studies and music entrepreneurship.
Meanwhile, eight minors are set to be eliminated — ethnic studies, French for the professions, German for the professions, linguistics, public administration, queer studies, Spanish for the professions, and women and gender studies.
The ultimate decision is up to the university president, Magaña said. 'However, he sought insight and worked closely with the deans of each college, who looked at their own efficiencies and assessed programs based on the detailed models provided by the HB 265 Committee.'
Some other majors and departments are to be consolidated — the school is planning on having six economics majors instead of four, combining the elementary education and special education programs.
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Weber State is also creating three secondary teaching majors to consolidate what were previously 31 separate programs — the new secondary science education major would encompass physics, chemistry, physical science, biology composite and Earth science teaching programs; a new social science composite education major would consolidate political science, sociology, geography, psychology and history teaching; and the new world languages education major would include French, German and Spanish teaching.
According to the presentation, the funds cut in this effort may later be used to partner with technical colleges, collaborate in academic programs 'that respond to workforce and societal needs,' develop new credential programs, and create additional systems to increase online course offerings. Also, to hire new faculty for 'high-yield' programs and other student success initiatives.
Utah State University has to make a reallocation plan for $12.6 million of its budget for courses, a task the institution has been aggressively pursuing.
The university declined to speak about the cuts until the plans are final. However, on a strategic reinvestment website, the institution made a list of the first 14 programs that may be affected in the reallocation process.
Most of the programs on the list are part of the university's EEJ College of Education and Human Services, including programs on ASL interpretation or teaching programs, as well as community and public health, family life studies, rehabilitation transition, and psychology data science and research methodology.
Other programs include environmental engineering, theater, national environmental policy act and agriculture communication.
'Decisions to discontinue educational activities have been based on an iterative, data-informed process with specific focus on the criteria in HB 265, contextual information offered through the deans and USU community feedback, and USU's anticipated strategic direction for reinvestment,' the website reads.
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