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Program
Review Paves the Way for New Programs
Spring
2000
On Thursday March 23, 2000 in
Havre the Montana Board of Regents approved the program review recommendations
made by the Montana State University campuses of the Montana University
System. Recently, there have been many questions and misunderstandings
about how the programs reviewed and eliminated at Montana State University-Northern
have affected the institution.
Montana State University-Northern
Chancellor Mike Rao explained that dime is difficulty in eliminating programs
when hard working members of the faculty have invested so much in them.
Ultimately, however, the elimination of some programs relates much more
to an overall decline in enrollment and regional population in the last
six years. This decline was reflected in budget reductions that ultimately
took place in 1999. He indicated that the challenge lies in "how MSU-Northern
can maintain a reasonably healthy budget situation, avoid returning to
an overspending pattern, manage overall declining enrollment, and balance
resources among a set of programs with sustainable enrollments. Despite
its challenges, at this point, state systemwide program review can be viewed
as a mechanism to help Montana State University-Northern focus on its program
offerings, meeting the needs of students in areas that are growing, and
the taxpayers and employers of Montana" stated Rao. According to Rao "The
challenge that remains is how to move forward with new program offerings.
I remain confident that my faculty colleagues will continue to pursue programs
that offer a chance of accommodating new students' needs."
The following is a summary
of the 20 programs eliminated at Montana State University-Northern with
the reason the programs were eliminated. 64 total program offerings were
under program review consideration.
Master's
of Education in Vocational Education
-
Recommended for elimination
by departmental faculty
-
It is being proposed that this
degree be replaced with a Master's in Education in Adult Learning and Training
-
This does not include all master's
degrees in education-just the one in Voc Ed, which is being replaced by
a degree in Adult Learning and Training.
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Bachelor's
Degree in Applied Technology
-
Recommended for elimination
by departmental faculty
-
It is being proposed that this
degree be replaced with a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Technology, which
has far greater application in industrial arts teacher education.
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Bachelor's
Degree and Minor in Electronics Engineering Technology
-
It is being proposed that this
degree be replaced with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering Technology
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Minor
in Drama
-
Zero graduates in the past six
years.
-
No Students listed this option
as a minor during the past six years.
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Minor
in Chemistry
-
Zero graduates in the last six
years.
-
One student currently lists
this as their minor.
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Minor
in Mathematics
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Two graduates in the last six
years.
-
Two students currently list
this as their minor.
-
Some of the courses offered
for the minor are scheduled to enroll one student.
-
All general education mathematics
courses, statistics, trigonometry, and two calculus classes will remain
as part of the curriculum.
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Minor
in Water Quality
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Two graduates in the last six
years.
-
Zero students currently list
this option as a minor.
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Bachelor
of Arts and Minor in English
-
One graduate in the last six
years
-
Three students are currently
listed as taking the degree program
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The teaching major and minor
in English remain in the curriculum
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Bachelor
of Science in Education in History and History Minor Option
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Nine graduates over a four-year
period, with no graduates the first two years. This averages out to 2.25
graduates per year.
-
Twenty current students list
this degree as their major
-
The History major will be folded
into the Bachelor of Science in Education Social Sciences Option. This
degree currently contains 21 credits in history. The eliminated history
degree contained 27 credits in history ... two additional classes more
than the consolidated degree.
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Bachelor
of Science and Minor in Biology
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Seventeen students graduated
in the last six years
-
That is 2.8333 students a year,
over the last six years the number of graduates in Biology was 4, 7, 3,
1, 1, and 1.
-
Twenty Six current students
list Biology as their current major
-
This degree will be folded into
the Bachelor of Science-General Science option
-
The biology faculty is currently
exploring a number of options to present for consideration
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Associate
of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor of Science and Minor in Manufacturing
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A.A.S. had four graduates in
the last six years or .6667 graduates a year.
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B.S. had 13 graduates in the
last six years or 2.16667 graduates a year
-
Minor had six graduates in the
past six years
-
One-student currently lists
the Associate of Arts and Sciences in Manufacturing as a major.
-
Seven students currently list
the Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing as their major
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Associate
of Arts and Sciences in Metals Technology
-
A.A.S. had ten graduates in
the last six years or 1.6667 graduates a year.
-
Fifteen students are currently
enrolled as metals technology majors.
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The certificate in welding technology
is being kept as part of the curriculum.
-
Many of the metals and manufacturing
courses will continue to be offered for other majors, including a new industrial
technology major that may offer both a teaching and non-teaching track.
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Associate
of Arts and Sciences in Community Service
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Recommended by faculty to eliminate
this degree because the two-year degree in this field is no longer marketable.
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Bachelor
of Science in Agricultural Mechanics Technology
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This degree was eliminated several
years ago. The program continued to appear on MSU-Northern's program inventory
so it was removed through the program review process.
Chancellor Rao had these comments
"All currently enrolled students will be afforded the opportunity to continue
and complete their programs and we encourage them to remain at Montana
State University-Northern." The future of MSU-Northern continues
to be bright. There is no effort to change the misson of MSU-Northern
and none of its officials intend for it to become a two-year institution
nor is it closing. New degree programs that MSU-Northern will introduce
to replace the eliminated programs, will make graduates of those programs
more marketable on a local, regional, state, national and international
level, ensuring that MSU-Northern maintains and strengthens our place at
North Central Montana's premier regional university. While MSU-Northern
continues to face challenges that appear to be connected to declining population
and a struggling economy, it also faces may opportunities that its team
will pursue.
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