In the latest BCES Conference Book ("Education in Modern Society," BCES Conference Books, 2018) a study was published which presented Hungarian legislation on the field of education. It is clear that the legal framework serves the interests of the government. The Fundamental Law of Hungary does not guarantee the fundamental right to…

This paper is an edited transcript of a panel discussion which took place at an educational conference about the current state of popular culture studies at American colleges and universities. First touching on the number of university media departments being disbanded in general across the country, the discussion focuses on several questions:…

Examined the enactment and early implementation of remedial education policies in Massachusetts and Oklahoma. Findings suggested that efforts to end or restrict remediation are driven largely by status attainment concerns--the desire by policy makers and administrators to create "competitive advantage" for certain public higher education…

Asserting that liberal education is at risk in Canadian universities, attempts to explain why such policy shifts are occurring; points to the continuing cultural, social, and intellectual value of liberal education; and, drawing from recent census data, demonstrates that liberal education produces generally positive economic benefits to the…

Causes contributing to academic program audit and review becoming a means of resource reallocation in higher education are considered, along with principles relevant to its management, and major issues surrounding its development and implementation. The current interest in the audit and review of established academic programs is linked to…

Several hierarchical and sequential reduction options are discussed. The institutional shrinkage process implemented at the University of Michigan is described, including across-the-board cuts, reduction of nonacademic programs, long-range faculty reduction procedures, and program discontinuance. (Author/MLW)

Two decades following the publication of David G. Brown's "Criteria for Pruning Programs," (which recognized that traditional financial support to higher education was decreasing and proposed 10 guidelines for evaluating existing programs) a study was developed to determine what criteria are actually being used by comprehensive…

Program discontinuance at colleges and universities is often linked to issues of program demand and quality. However, neither low demand nor low quality is sufficient for program discontinuance without a judgment on the criterion of the centrality of the program to the institution's core mission. Colleges' retrenchment and survival mechanisms…

Academic program review is analyzed in regard to purposes, process, schedule and timing, criteria, and decisions. Attention is also briefly addressed to the organizational entities that oversee the process of state-level program review. The purposes of program review are linked to budgeting decisions, mission delineation, and potential program…

Rowan College of New Jersey has adopted an "enterprise model" for strategic planning that is seen as central to attaining the mission of the college during a time involving a substantial decline in state support. Rowan pursued a strategy termed "growth by substitution." This new process was cast in a more entrepreneurial mold…

A nationwide process in the Netherlands is discussed in which a number of specific disciplines were concentrated in one or a few Dutch universities. The decisive roll of political arguments and consequences for future government and academic planning are addressed. Both universities and government believed that ongoing retrenchment could no longer…

This study examines, from an organizational perspective, decision rules guiding program discontinuance, testing the framework of decision rule rationality versus action rationality. A multi-site case study method was used; interviews were conducted with 11-16 individuals at each of four research I or II universities that had discontinued at least…

The impact of discontinuing an academic program at St. Edward's University, Texas, was assessed by measurement on three levels: first-level effects on students and faculty; second-level effects on auxiliary offices and related courses and majors; and third-level effects on productivity and a profile of majors. Majors with a higher than average…

This study explores the ability of shared governance systems to make institutional hard decisions, focusing particularly on discontinuance of academic programs. A case study method examined shared governance processes at four research institutions to identify themes and patterns across the institutional decision-making process. Between 11 and 16…

Internal and external pressures that affect college program discontinuance schemes were investigated, based on minutes of the Kansas State Board of Regents and three other government-related groups/subgroups. During 1972-1986, a total of 206 programs were merged or discontinued. In 1972 a policy was enacted whereby masters programs that had…