Florida State UniversityThe university’s board of trustees will consider removing five degree programs from the university at Friday’s board meeting.

Colleges overseeing the programs have called for their removal after years of low enrollment or inactivity. If approved, the removal will take effect in the summer of 2022.

Among the programs planned for elimination:

—Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education

Demand for the early childhood education curriculum has declined as a result of increased interest in the elementary education curriculum, FSU Provost wrote Sally McRorie in an email requesting to remove the program.

The program currently has no students enrolled as it was suspended in 2017 while FSU’s College of Education redesigned its teacher education programs.

Removing the curriculum will allow the college to continue admitting more students into the primary education program.

—Master of Nursing

FSU’s Masters of Nursing program is being phased out as the professional standards of the advanced nursing industry have left such programs behind all over the country.

The American Association for Colleges of Nursing and the National Academy of Medicine have recommended that colleges transform Masters of Nursing programs into Doctor of Nursing (DNP) programs to increase the number and quality of nurse practitioners. at national scale.

No students are currently enrolled in the program, as no students have been admitted to the program since 2017. All resources allocated to the Masters of Nursing program will go to FSU’s DNP program if it is disbanded.

—Master in History and Philosophy of Science

The History and Philosophy of Science degree has been suspended since 2020 after the creation of a new major program to replace it.

The degree spent years on the Board of Governors’ list of underachieving degrees and struggled to meet its minimum enrollment targets. A new major, Philosophy of Science, has been added to the existing Philosophy degree program in order to use resources more efficiently while offering degrees to students wishing to specialize in this field of study.

The decision to abolish the degree will not change the allocation of resources, as the programs have already been redirected to the Department of Philosophy. A student remains in the History and Philosophy of Science program, but is expected to graduate before the degree is phased out.

—Master’s and Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Human Sciences

FSU’s interdisciplinary humanities graduate programs are being abandoned due to low enrollment and underachievement.

While FSU’s interdisciplinary humanities graduate degrees are unpopular, the undergraduate program has over 400 students enrolled, according to the program website.

If graduate programs are discontinued, program resources will be transferred to FSU’s Department of Religion, the new headquarters of the interdisciplinary undergraduate program. Neither faculty will be affected by the change, according to McRorie’s email requesting the removal of both programs of study.

The board of directors will meet at 11 am at the Augustus B. Turnbull III Florida State Conference Center.

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