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Chicago Tribune
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Indiana University, Ball State and Purdue are gutted without logic or thought
The list of executions is a stunner. B.A. in French — dead, or in Hoosier political-ease, 'Suspend (with Teach-Out toward Elimination)/Written Commitment to Merge/Consolidate the Program before AY26-27.' B.A. in Art History — dead. B.A. in Italian — dead. M.A. in Japanese — dead. M.A. in Theater and Drama — dead. M.A. in Chinese — dead. That's merely a taste of the carnage announced Monday by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE), as planned for one of America's great universities, Indiana University in beautiful Bloomington. Since there are 116 degree programs disappearing from Indiana's Big Ten flagship campus, and 222 across the Indiana University system from Indianapolis to Kokomo, we could have filled this entire space with a list. And, believe us, we were sorely tempted. But we'd have needed yet more space to include similar cuts at Ball State University, Indiana State University, Purdue University, Ivy Tech Community College and the University of Southern Indiana. Ball State is losing degree programs in philosophy, geology and German, to name but three. All in all, public schools in Indiana are losing some 20% of their current degree programs. What on earth happened? The cuts are the work of the ICHE, which would be better to call itself the Indiana Commission for the Gutting of Higher Education. The ICHE is operating at the behest of the governor and the Indiana legislature, which cut 5% from its budget for higher education in its most recent two-year budget, even as it required schools to keep tuition and fees flat for the next year. At the eleventh hour, the legislature then also imposed a requirement that all programs meet new enrollment guidelines; degrees with just a few students now will be eliminated. We're hardly reflexive defenders of all aspects of academe. We've called many times for keeping tuition more affordable and for public universities that take advantage of taxpayer dollars to fulfill their mission of excellent teaching and training, preparing students effectively for today's world and emphasizing critical thinking over indoctrination. We acknowledge that many of the programs on this list are small and thus relatively more expensive. And we're well aware of some of academia's loopier inclinations and the overly cushy gigs it sometimes provides those who are able to mow their lawn when most taxpayers are still behind their laptops or in their trucks. So stipulated. Even so, while revolutionaries invariably favor an axe, this kind of wholesale carnage still is a shocker. If you read the entire list, you'll likely be struck by how much damage is being done to education in the humanities and the arts. Surely, a determined Indiana student who wants to attend his or her state university should be able to study German, art history or dance, somewhere; if not in Bloomington, then where else in Indiana? The answer for some, of course, will be out of state or at a private school; the humanities will continue to be protected in the Ivy League or at the University of Chicago. But that doesn't help a lower-middle-class kid with writing talent from Franklin, Indiana. The ICHE cuts also don't recognize that some of these small degree programs are taught by faculty who work across several programs and most of them have curricula that overlap, too. In many instances, they simply are a means of offering students more choice at relatively little incremental cost within an academic department. And when it comes to doctoral programs, especially, they are small by design. Indiana doesn't need 50 doctoral students in astrophysics, but we'd argue that a robust program with five might just pay the state back its costs, should even one of them set up some kind of innovative shop in Indianapolis, or, 20 years later, teach an astrophysicist who does precisely that. This kind of one-size-fits-all metric is crude in the extreme. There are excellent programs that don't attract a crowd. Moreover, degree programs go in and out of fashion. Business and finance degrees may be the hottest things now, but they won't necessarily stay that way. Setting the philosophical justification for these changes, Indiana's Republican Gov. Mike Braun has called for more 'practical' degrees with direct applications to the workforce. Sure. But who's to say right now what those degree programs will be in 20 years, especially as artificial intelligence threatens to reorder the demands of the workplace? Those finance majors and accountants may find machines doing much of what they learned to do, even as degree programs like philosophy that promote critical and relative thinking suddenly have more applicability than now is the case. Indiana University-Bloomington should not be turned into a trade school with Division One football and basketball. The state, which long has been proud of IU, needs teachers, thinkers, artists, musicians and poets, too. And it sure as heck needs people with proficiency in languages and cultures other than English. One final note. Christopher Rufo and other conservatives have led something of a revival of Western civilization-style instruction at campuses in Florida and elsewhere. They've argued that students should be debating, Sophocles-style, and reading Aristotle or Socrates rather than deconstructive or nihilistic texts emphasizing identity, post-colonial guilt and the like. We think students should read and think about all of the above, although we're all for the rise of classically based curricula, for those who choose such an education. We're all products of the liberal arts ourselves. Yet in Indiana, those old-school, discursive classes are over-represented on the crudest of chopping blocks. If the legislature and the ICHE are really concerned about how the state's young minds are being educated, they should pack away their numbers nonsense and engage with the state's faculty on the future of Indiana's great state university. Ideally before the best minds get the heck out of the state. Teachers and students.
Chicago Tribune
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
400-plus Indiana degree programs volunteered to be reduced
Six Hoosier university systems have volunteered to reduce more than 400 degree programs statewide, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education announced Monday at a meeting of its Academic Affairs and Quality Committee. Indiana has about 2,200 degree programs, meaning about 19% statewide were volunteered to be reduced either immediately or as a future commitment. Statewide, 75 programs will be eliminated, and of those, 68 have zero enrollments, according to commission numbers. The commission invited seven institutions to take part of the voluntary action, said Matt Butler, ICHE senior associate commissioner and academic officer. Indiana House Enrolled Act 1001 — the state budget bill — included language that allowed the elimination of various programs. Universities with programs that fall under quotas for three consecutive years must request permission from the commission to continue the degrees, according to bill details. Quotas include an average enrollment of 15 or more students for three consecutive years in bachelor degree programs, 10 in associate degree programs, seven in master's programs, and three in educational specialist and doctorate degree programs, according to Post-Tribune archives. The statute went into effect Tuesday. Gov. Mike Braun signed the budget bill into law on May 6. 'During the most recent legislative session, one of our top agenda items included ensuring that Indiana's higher education institutions are preparing students for career opportunities in the most in-demand fields of today and the future,' Braun said in a statement. 'Just in the past month, our state institutions have taken bold, proactive steps to increase the value of higher education for both students and families, first, through keeping tuition flat, and today, by beginning the process to streamline degree offerings. 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.' Butler said Monday that universities had three options: elimination, suspension and merge or consolidate. Programs with a suspension would have a teach-out toward elimination option, which would phase out the degree if students are enrolled. 'With those options, the participating institutions were able to make re-prioritizing decisions to better align with student demand, evolving disciplinarian and workforce trends, and wisely allocate resources,' Butler said. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education will review the recommendations and finalize decisions on July 24. Participating institutions included Ball State University, Indiana State University, the Indiana University system, Ivy Tech Community College, Purdue University system and University of Southern Indiana. Vincennes University did not participate because the school has eliminated or suspended 18 degrees in the past three years and did not have any available to volunteer now, said Tony Hahn, vice president of government relations. At Indiana University Northwest, no programs will be eliminated, but four will be suspended with teach-out toward elimination and 12 will be suspended with the commitment to merge or consolidate with another program. University media representatives did not comment on how staffing might be affected by the changes. The commission reported that Indiana University had 249 impacted programs, but Mark Bode, IU executive director of media relations and public affairs, said the net loss will be 222 programs across its campuses. Through mergers and consolidations, 27 programs will be created, Bode said. Degrees with enrollment currently under the minimum threshold will maintain normal operations through the upcoming academic year, according to IU's website. 'Campus leaders will work with deans to communicate directly with affected faculty and staff about the recommendations, and affected students will be notified following final Indiana Commission for Higher Education approval,' the university statement said. Purdue University Northwest will eliminate four programs, including its M.S. Ed. in special education, M.S./M.A.T. in mathematics, B.S. in medical laboratory science and B.S.B. in entrepreneurship. Three programs will be committed to suspension, two will be merged and nine will be committed to merge. 'Only a handful of (PNW) students are in the four programs identified in the preliminary draft of the 'plan to suspend' as published by (the Indiana Commission for Higher Education),' PNW Communications Specialist Kale Wilk said in a Tuesday email. 'Other potential options may be pursued such as consolidating multiple low-enrollment programs into one program. In any case, all students currently enrolled at PNW will be able to complete their degree programs of study.' Wilk did not address how staffing might be impacted. Through all Purdue campuses, 83 programs will be affected, according to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education numbers. Purdue University officials did not answer how staffing will be affected at its campuses. Purdue Spokesperson Trevor Peters said in an email Tuesday that at the institution's West Lafayette campus, it affects 1 in 1,000 students in the five programs identified for suspension, and those students can finish their degrees.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposed bill seeks increased oversight for homeschool families
ILLINOIS (WCIA) — Illinois is one of a few states that place minimal rules on parents or guardians who homeschool. A proposed bill, called the Homeschool Act, is hoping to change that. As of now, Illinois parents or guardians who homeschool don't have to register with any state agency or school district and authorities can't make them track attendance or show students' progress. Champaign Co. residents pushing for safety increase at notorious intersection Kirk Smith, executive director of Illinois Christian Home Educators (ICHE), has homeschooled all 11 of his children. With some still in highschool, he said any legislation that tries to infringe on his role as an educator is absurd. 'Our kids have done very, very, very well in college, and we're the norm,' Smith said. 'Our kids are not special, they're just very normal, and that's kind of representative of what the homeschool community is all about.' The proposed bill aims to increase oversight for homeschooling families. Groups, like the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE), think that Illinois' current state of homeschooling could put children in harm's way. 'Floor-level protections like this pose no more than a minimal administrative task for the many families who are homeschooling responsibly, while ensuring children who are vulnerable to educational neglect and abuse are accounted for,' CRHE Research Director Jonah Stewart said in a statement. Urbana mall hosts Read for America event Smith did not overlook the fact that cases of abuse can exist in homeschool settings. He said, however, that it exists everywhere. 'There are some tragic stories of abuse,' Smith said. 'You can't get around it. Any educational model will have abuse.' The Homeschool Act would require homeschooling parents or guardians to have a high school diploma or equivalent, tell school districts when they decide to educate from home and show evidence of teaching materials if authorities have concerns. Along with impacting homeschool families, the bill would also require all private schools to register within the state — something that's voluntary as of now. Smith said that the state simply does not have the funds or staffing necessary to carry out what the bill would require. He also said that the proposed measures of oversight and sharing of data infringes on his rights as a parent. 'What that suggests is I've got to get permission to homeschool my kids from the state, thus the ideological backing is they're the state's kids not mine,' Smith said. Illinois law enforcement respond to a new amendment On the other hand, the CRHE believes that the bill would put Illinois on par with other states who have legislation that closely monitors homeschooling. The bill introduces common-sense measures that make sure homeschooled children are educated and safe,' Stewart said. The concept of increasing homeschool oversight isnt a new thing in Illinois. Past attempts to create protections for homeschooled students have failed or been tabled. The Homeschool Act was read in the House last month and has now been assigned to the Education Policy Committee. It's scheduled for a hearing this week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
