UNC-CH dropping some academic programs

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

30 June 2026 issue of Triangle Business Journal

"The university placed four graduate programs on pause. They include master's programs in health policy and management as well as environmental sciences and engineering within the Gillings School of Global Public Health; a master's program in digital curation and management in the School of Information and Library Science; and a doctorate in curiculum and instruction in the School of Education.

Hard to believe they gave up a doctorate that another school offers in the state.

[havefunkc]

Not the first and won't be the last (and not just UNC-CH)... The academic world has started going through an 'education' itself. Learning that meeting the needs of its markets is actually kind of important...

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

Not the first and won't be the last (and not just UNC-CH)... The academic world has started going through an 'education' itself. Learning that meeting the needs of its markets is actually kind of important...

I read where ECU dropped 48 programs. That must not be whole departments but maybe specific programs in a department.

I think App dropped my degree program but still gets physics teachers pushed out the door but under a different program. UNCG completely shut down their physics department and only offer a few intro courses required for the other STEM majors at UNCG.

Some of this might be warranted as long as the pain is spread around to all universities and not just the non-flagship universities taking the cuts. These programs being cut also lead to less tax dollars being sent around the state if a public university.

[Saint3333]

Not the first and won't be the last (and not just UNC-CH)... The academic world has started going through an 'education' itself. Learning that meeting the needs of its markets is actually kind of important...

Dropping programs that don't produce an ROI to the buyer and are only indoctrinating the youth in a certain direction.

Good riddance.

[appstate24]

Not the first and won't be the last (and not just UNC-CH)... The academic world has started going through an 'education' itself. Learning that meeting the needs of its markets is actually kind of important...

Dropping programs that don't produce an ROI to the buyer and are only indoctrinating the youth in a certain direction.

Good riddance.

Preach!

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

What programs are indoctrinating? If the program of study is teaching factual information then it is just spreading knowledge, which is the main goal of a university.


How does one determine return on investment? Granted some programs clearly feed into a specific job more than other programs there are a lot of jobs out there in a variety of areas that are filled easily by people coming out of all variety of programs of study.

[Stonewall]

A lot of duplication across the System that should be consolidated. My opinion.

[fjblair]

East Hall dorm is going to be torn down and a STEM building built. Not sure of the time frame, but now that Edwin Duncan renovations are almost complete the bell tolls. East was being used as extra space while Edwin Duncan renovations were underway.

[Saint3333]

What programs are indoctrinating? If the program of study is teaching factual information then it is just spreading knowledge, which is the main goal of a university.


How does one determine return on investment? Granted some programs clearly feed into a specific job more than other programs there are a lot of jobs out there in a variety of areas that are filled easily by people coming out of all variety of programs of study.

You know the answers to both…

All of them in today’s academia.

ROI is a financial metric - earnings divided by investment.

[BUTCH1991]

East Hall dorm is going to be torn down and a STEM building built. Not sure of the time frame, but now that Edwin Duncan renovations are almost complete the bell tolls. East was being used as extra space while Edwin Duncan renovations were underway.

My son was in the last group to live in East Hall - in 2018 . At least that's what we were told then.

[fjblair]

East Hall dorm is going to be torn down and a STEM building built. Not sure of the time frame, but now that Edwin Duncan renovations are almost complete the bell tolls. East was being used as extra space while Edwin Duncan renovations were underway.

My son was in the last group to live in East Hall - in 2018 . At least that's what we were told then.

Sounds about right, it hasn't been used as a primary residence hall in many years.

[AppfaninCAALand]

What programs are indoctrinating? If the program of study is teaching factual information then it is just spreading knowledge, which is the main goal of a university.


How does one determine return on investment? Granted some programs clearly feed into a specific job more than other programs there are a lot of jobs out there in a variety of areas that are filled easily by people coming out of all variety of programs of study.

Technically, all education is "indoctrination", its just people only use that word to describe preceived negative education (or education they don't like). It doesn't really matter if you call it indoctrination, or as I prefer just a stupid waste of time and money that might actually make you dumber taught by "professors" less qualified in a given topic than a random YouTuber covering that same topic. Either way, there is a lot of unnecessary bloat in every school's course catalog.

As for ROI, I would say a school could monitor student enrollment, graduate job placement rates, academic research published, and alumni giving by major and get a pretty solid idea what departments and programs are worth the investment, and which are a drag on the budget.

[Saint3333]

Not really.

Indoctrination is the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs, ideas, or rules without questioning or thinking critically about them.

The last seven words are the difference.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

What programs are indoctrinating? If the program of study is teaching factual information then it is just spreading knowledge, which is the main goal of a university.


How does one determine return on investment? Granted some programs clearly feed into a specific job more than other programs there are a lot of jobs out there in a variety of areas that are filled easily by people coming out of all variety of programs of study.

Technically, all education is "indoctrination", its just people only use that word to describe preceived negative education (or education they don't like). It doesn't really matter if you call it indoctrination, or as I prefer just a stupid waste of time and money that might actually make you dumber taught by "professors" less qualified in a given topic than a random YouTuber covering that same topic. Either way, there is a lot of unnecessary bloat in every school's course catalog.

As for ROI, I would say a school could monitor student enrollment, graduate job placement rates, academic research published, and alumni giving by major and get a pretty solid idea what departments and programs are worth the investment, and which are a drag on the budget.

I can see graduate job placement as some metric but it need not be in the field, just a job. I am sure research published is already looked at. It certainly is a consideration for tenure.

I am not as sure about alumni giving unless it is the percent giving and not the amount. App has a lot of programs that do a lot of good for society but may not pay all that great. And some programs may not do all that good at any of those but still should not be cut because they are required courses for other programs and the other programs can not exist without everything that is a required course.

[brocktune90]

Unless a graduate tells the school what they are doing after graduation, there is no way to track post graduation outcomes. The social security system or IRS could possibly do it, but that is a separate computer system entirely and they have not shown any appetite for such.

A school should teach and assess competencies based on the published learning outcomes at the course, program, and campus level. Accreditation agencies require evidence that this is being done. If a student doesn't get a job, is that the schools fault? What if the student never applies for a job?

The closure of academic programs across the country is a cost saving measure. With dwindling state support, increasing labor, facility, health plan, and retirement costs, the only levers university leaders can pull are to increase tuition to cover costs, or reduce the workforce. Nobody likes to increase tuition, especially a politician.

[ASUTodd]

30 June 2026 issue of Triangle Business Journal

"The university placed four graduate programs on pause. They include master's programs in health policy and management as well as environmental sciences and engineering within the Gillings School of Global Public Health; a master's program in digital curation and management in the School of Information and Library Science; and a doctorate in curiculum and instruction in the School of Education.

Hard to believe they gave up a doctorate that another school offers in the state.

They are actively working on bolstering their engineering program. We got to talk to some folks with my son going in there. Obviously biomed is a big part of that.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

A lot of duplication across the System that should be consolidated. My opinion.

I do think having programs in different parts of the state and different size schools with different demographics is important. Maybe all three mountain schools need to be 20,000 big and all offering the same program but having program X at all three could make sense since each has a different school population size which can be important for students.

I would rather see more programs spread across the three geographic regions of the state such as get a medical school in the mountains or at least Hickory. Engineering needs to be in the mountains and I think that is what WCU is doing at some level, but it is not at the level of NCSU or UNCC. And those programs need to be at our HBCU schools as well,which may not be in the mountains, given the location of the Black Belt in NC, but those schools need to have a broad range of programs of study.

[Stonewall]

I don’t know that we need three mountain schools. And there are people that are considering the question. Should Asheville become a satellite of Western ? It would make financial sense. One administration, split academic offerings between the two. How about Central and A&T? There are opportunities but it is unlikely that there will be the political will.

[Bootsy]

Not the first and won't be the last (and not just UNC-CH)... The academic world has started going through an 'education' itself. Learning that meeting the needs of its markets is actually kind of important...

Dropping programs that don't produce an ROI to the buyer and are only indoctrinating the youth in a certain direction.

Good riddance.

It sounds like you’re saying I should reconsider focusing my PhD thesis on “Transgender identity struggles in 14th-century Bulgaria?

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

I don’t know that we need three mountain schools. And there are people that are considering the question. Should Asheville become a satellite of Western ? It would make financial sense. One administration, split academic offerings between the two. How about Central and A&T? There are opportunities but it is unlikely that there will be the political will.

I know UNC-A is struggling and a consolidated campus could save some part of the Asheville campus but I like have a small public liberal arts college in the state. Though a strong argument could be made others do not seem to share my view given attendance numbers-

Maybe ECSU could merge but with what other school?