SCSU Announces Cut Of 42 Degree Programs, 50 Minors

(KNSI) – St. Cloud State University administration held an all-campus presentation Tuesday afternoon to detail the extensive classroom cuts coming.

A slide deck shows the school as the least efficient in the Minnesota State University system, as identified in an instructional cost study completed in 2023. The presentation notes SCSU’s operational performance harms the school as it results in lower legislative appropriations. The deficit for the current year, once you remove a one-time appropriation, is still stubbornly high at $14.4 million.

KNSI News spoke with acting President Larry Lee. He says St. Cloud State has not adjusted quick enough to enrollment trends, creating a very low student-to-faculty ratio that is unsustainable. “Since 2010, we’ve had an enrollment decline, and we have not reduced the faculty level to keep pace with the decline in enrollment. So, it’s caused us, through this cost study metric, to be terrifically out of line.”

Administration says it is a persistent problem that dates back years, and fixing it in one fell swoop means sweeping changes. SCSU proposes reducing the number of majors it offers to 94, consisting of 62 bachelor’s degrees, 29 master’s degrees, and three doctoral degrees. SCSU says 92% of students are currently enrolled in the programs that will be kept. There will also be 35 minors offered.

Restructuring the school’s classes will require it to shed 54 professors. They will be let go starting in May 2025, with a second wave of terminations in 2027.

Lee says the long window between notification and termination is a product of the collective bargaining agreement between SCSU and the faculty union. “Twenty of the faculty identified are what we call “super tenured.” And what that means is, that’s a term for a faculty member with over 19 years of experience. So, when you’re a faculty member with 19 years or more experience, we have to provide them a three-year notice.”

While 8% of students are affected by the reduction in degrees, that’s less than the 13% reduction in faculty positions. The administration says this gap is enough to close the operational deficit that exists. Lee says students guided administrators in helping them decide what to cut.

“When you think about the elimination of 42 degree programs and 50 minor programs, but that only represents an impact 8% of our students, our students are telling us what their interest level is in those programs.”

The administration says they have been careful to retain a diverse faculty. Once the changes are implemented, the amount of white teachers will rise by only 1% to 74% of instructors.

Every student in a program being cut will have the opportunity to complete their studies at SCSU, with between three and four years to get their diplomas. They will get individual advising to ensure they can complete their programs.

SCSU says positive operational cash flow, if the changes are implemented, should come in Fiscal Year 2027. Until then, Minnesota State will issue a $2 million loan to SCSU as the school’s cash balance is less than 5% of the more than $140 million in revenue it takes in per year.

Lee will leave the school in July for a college in Illinois. The new interim president is Larry Dietz. He was announced when President Robbyn Wacker stepped down the weekend of spring commencement.

A list of the programs that have been cut is below.