FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A week after Cardinal Stritch University near Milwaukee announced it’s closing amid financial struggles and declining enrollment, another small private college in Wisconsin is cutting some programs too.
The Board of Trustees at Marian University in Fond du Lac is laying off some staff and eliminating more than a dozen majors and minors.
Like every other college and university, Marian is dealing with declining enrollment and decreased revenue. The university’s Board of Trustee declared an enrollment emergency last month, even before Cardinal Stritch University announced its closure.
“An enrollment emergency is really just kind of a heads up that’s saying to everybody, ‘You know what, we might have to tighten our belts a little bit,’” says Callista Gould, Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications at Marian University.
In Marian’s case, to tighten its belt, it’s eliminating some programs. Despite a student body of 1,200-plus, more than 50 majors and several graduate programs, Marian still needs to cut back.
It’s eliminating eight undergraduate majors and more than a dozen minors. Programs like homeland security, social justice and graphic arts will no longer be offered.
“We had programs where there was low enrollment, and so, we have to eliminate those programs,” says Gould.
While Marian is eliminating majors that students just aren’t pursuing anymore, they are seeing an increase in programs with more targeted career options.
“In the fall, we’ve got coming up an insurance and risk management major — that’s what the market demands,” explains Gould. “And we’re also very strong in the helping professions. Look around in Wisconsin, there’s a nursing shortage — we’ve got a really strong nursing program. We got a great social work program, great criminal justice. These are all programs where the market needs these people.”
Marian officials say changes like these are a business decision, one that will help the university stay financially healthy to ensure it’s around for another 80-plus years.
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