A University of Wisconsin campus pushes plan to drop 13 majors — including English, history [tr]

Washington Post ^ | March 21, 2018 | Valerie Strauss

[C19fan]

The University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point has proposed dropping 13 majors in the humanities and social sciences — including English, philosophy, history, sociology and Spanish — while adding programs with “clear career pathways” as a way to address declining enrollment and a multimillion-dollar deficit.

Students and faculty members have reacted with surprise and concern to the news, which is being portrayed by the school’s administration as a path to regain enrollment and provide new opportunities to students. Critics see something else: a waning commitment to liberal arts education and a chance to lay off faculty under new rules that weakened tenure.

[BenLurkin]

Lots of career path options for wannabe eco-facists.

[DIRTYSECRET]

I say free tuition for all Math/Science courses. The rest can be charged based on the free market. Maybe taxes can pay for the sciences only. Saves money.

[dsrtsage]

Perhaps eliminating history is unwise, though most of what you learn in school is fake anyway.

Its probably ok though, if you wait long enough it will all happen again anyway, so you can see first hand what you missed in class

[lee martell]

So, less majors in topics such as The History of Black Oppression in America. or White Privilege, Fact or Myth?

[Catmom]

Me, too.

What’s next? Merit based admissions?

[Slyfox]

There is no shame in being a bonafide trade school.

[Billthedrill]

What’s next? Merit based admissions?

That's crazy talk.

[I want the USA back]

May as well. The “history” they teach is actually “herstory,”
and false. The “English” they teach, is actually ebonics with a dozen or so made-up pronouns.

[RitchieAprile]

I suppose you want the instructors to teach for free?

Isn’t that Socialist?

[kaboom]

FWIW this be GR8 n i cant W8 to LMAO when dey be l%kin 4 jobs

[Hamilcar_Barca]

I like this plan. These are the areas where graduates can get jobs rather than just college debt. New majors:

• Chemical Engineering
• Computer Information Systems
• Conservation Law Enforcement
• Finance
• Fire Science
• Graphic Design
• Management
• Marketing

[Wally_Kalbacken]

And at the flagship campus - recently the short tenured business school Dean stepped in it by floating the news that the MBA program would be ending. Which didn’t exactly go over well with the students presently in the program, or recent graduates, who felt their degrees were being retroactively tarnished. She ended up resigning after what seemed like only about 6 months on the job. She was probably correct in her thinking that the MBA has been oversold, and that a school with their ranking (in the low-mid 30’s) might want to get out of the business after many years of not being able to move up in rank. But the way she brought it into the public discussion was really clumsy, and the mere mention of it backfired mightily.

The idea of splitting schools into STEM programs and “other” (humanities programs) is getting a lot of attention lately, and it makes sense to me. Especially if it gets rid of programs like Women’s Studies at UW-Madison. An analysis of bad rates for federally guaranteed student loans would show that many of these pointless degree concentrations are correlated with default. If you are paying the freight, it’s no one’s business what you choose to study. If you are borrowing your way to oblivion to get a degree in “Gender Studies”, and the loans are backed by the federal taxpayer, it is our business.

[yesthatjallen]

The University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point has proposed dropping 13 majors in the humanities and social sciences — including English, philosophy, history, sociology and Spanish — while adding programs with “clear career pathways” as a way to address declining enrollment and a multimillion-dollar deficit.

Keep lowering the standards until you reach the lowest common denominator then everyone can 'earn' a college degree.

How long before they have a Social Justice Warrior major?

[Pining_4_TX]

College is not the best place to learn any foreign language, and, as is the case with most liberal arts majors, it is quite easy these days to learn whatever you want without sitting in a classroom. Most people go to college to get the piece of paper.

[dangerdoc]

I was a course or two short of a degree in Spanish, a few years later I was practicing medicine in the San Diego area, I could not communicate with many of the people walking in. I asked the office manager, I well educated young lady originally from Mexico, she jabbered at them, they jabbered at her, I asked her what they said and she told me she didn’t know they were speaking “Indio crap” and their Spanish made no sense.

[beethovenfan]

“Don’t know much about history.......”

[BEJ]

a waning commitment to liberal arts education and a chance to lay off faculty under new rules that weakened tenure.

I see it as a move against Marxist education and Marxist teachers who teach Marxist grievance courses and radical feminist courses -- courses like "Transgender interpretations of urban lesbian poetry" -- or teach idiot courses like "How to climb a tree" at crazy high tuition and taxer payers expense, while the majority of sane males are leaving the university in droves.

Time to drain the Marxist swamp known as the university and send all the viper teachers to the Marxist paradise of North Korea.

[lastchance]

If people want to save those major they just need to add the word “studies” to the course description.

[lastchance]

Marry into politics?

[Getready]

Go to junior college for your basics, then take your specifics at good degree granting college. Why drop philosophy...? the newbies can’t think...they need to be trained to think...pretty soon...all you got to do is interrogate their smart phone to find out who they are...who needs their physical presence or a working brain or mouth anymore?