Saint Xavier University will be eliminating four majors as approved by the Board of Trustees on March 8, 2023.
Religious Studies, Philosophy, Mathematics, and Actuarial Science will no longer be offered to students as majors effective fall 2023. The Religious Studies and Philosophy programs had been suspended prior to their elimination.
It was also recommended by the Board of Trustees that the Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MSMS) and Master of Applied Computer Science (MACS) majors be eliminated, the email to faculty stated.
Saib Othman, Ph.D., Provost at SXU stated that “We carefully looked at the number of enrolled students per program and made our recommendations based on the low number of students enrolled in each sunsetting major”.
Othman added “The recommendations are not strictly about finances; they’re made based on student demand, student satisfaction, program effectiveness, and educational quality – we must continue to evolve to support majors based on student demand and reconsider those in which poor enrollment numbers reflect lack of interest”.
Religious Studies professor Michael O’Keeffe, Ph.D., who does not speak on behalf of the university per the university’s media policy, stated that “The administration put forward documents for termination of the major, of both Philosophy and Religious Studies, and the faculty voted against that measure”.
He continued “And the university’s administration recommended the termination altogether to the board, and the board accepted that recommendation”.
According to the university’s faculty handbook, the Faculty Senate is charged with the task of deciding “on the elimination, retention, and/or addition of instructional programs at the University, and to establish and publish criteria according to which such decisions are made”.
However, the Provost stated that “The administration and the Board uphold a fiduciary responsibility to consider the University as a whole so that the Catholic and Mercy educational mission may remain in perpetuity”.
Thomas Thorp, Ph.D., a professor of Philosophy, who does not speak on behalf of the university per the university’s media policy added that “This is a significant, fundamental change”.
He continued, “And the one thing that’s obvious is that it shouldn’t be happening quickly, without discussion and that means bringing the faculty in which they’ve resisted”.
The eliminated majors each had under eight students with some students expected to graduate in May of 2023, as the email to faculty stated.
The email wrote that there were two current Religious studies majors who “will complete the program in the coming semesters”, there were no current Philosophy majors, there were six Math majors “with three expected to graduate in May”, and eight Actuarial Science majors “with five expected to graduate in May”.
Three of the four eliminated majors also fall within the general education requirements of Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Mathematics.
Othman stated that “The decision to sunset a program does not affect liberal arts general education requirements and electives”.
The university will also be restructuring the colleges within the university, a plan originally designed by the prior Interim Provost, Michael Marsden, Ph. D.
Currently, the university is separated into three colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences(CAS), the Graham School of Management(GSM), and the School of Nursing and Health Sciences(SONHS).
The approved restructuring plan will consolidate the three colleges into two, the College of Liberal Arts and Education and the College of Nursing, Health Sciences and Business as listed on the university’s significant moments timeline.
The College of Liberal Arts and Education will house the Education Division, the Liberal Arts and Humanities Division, and the Social Sciences Division. This also moves all of the secondary education programs into one program which focuses on pedagogical courses rather than content-related courses, as listed in the email to faculty.
Othman added that “Instead of taking all the content area courses required to earn the non-education degree, candidates will only take content area courses required to be licensed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). These content area courses will be taught by the respective discipline faculty”.
The ISBE currently requires 18 semester hours rather than the previous 32 semester hours, as noted on their website. This change was made effective on July 13, 2022.
The College of Nursing, Health Sciences and Business will house the School of Nursing, Health Sciences, and the Graham School of Business, the email continued.
A previous version of this plan was presented to the Student Government Association(SGA) at a meeting on September 19, 2022.
In regards to this meeting, the Provost stated that “Students from the Student Government Association did not provide any particular feedback in relation to the restructuring proposal. I shared that the restructure would not have any direct impact on the general student body, and those enrolled in sunsetting majors will participate in a customized teach-out plan that ensures a seamless continuation process”.
The meeting held with SGA was the only information shared with the general student body regarding the major eliminations and the consolidation of the college from the university’s administration as of April 25, 2023.
Othman gave reasoning to this lack of communication, noting that “There is a very small number of students currently enrolled in the programs that will be eliminated. The process is still being worked through. Since the full student body wasn’t impacted, we chose not to communicate it broadly just yet”.
However, students within the four eliminated majors did receive communication from the university discussing the decision in which their personal “teach-out” plan was included.
A “teach-out” plan is required by the Higher Learning Commission.