30 majors, minors and pre-professional programs at St. Cloud State are in jeopardy of being discontinued. A review of all academic programs was conducted in the midst of the state’s considerable budget deficit.

St. Cloud State currently offers 175 majors, minors, and pre-professional programs. But this number could drop very soon. In an email sent to faculty and staff last week, SCSU Provost Devinder Malhotra put the rumors to rest about what programs might be dropped, and announced his official recommendations.

He’s asking for the discontinuation or reduction of 30 programs at St. Cloud State, including Health Education, Humanities, Information Media, Art History, as well as Master’s programs in Community Education, Electrical Engineering, Physical Education, and Social Science Education.

Malhotra says the programs up for termination are not financially sustainable over the long-haul and do not have sufficient enrollment. The state is battling a $1.2 billion deficit through the middle of next year… as well as a projected $5.4 billion deficit for the following two fiscal years.

Malhotra says, for the programs that do end up getting cut, students already enrolled will be grandfathered in, but those programs will stop accepting new admissions.

These are only recommendations. SCSU President Earl Potter will make the final call and make it public March 15. Between now and then, the University is hosting two open meetings where students, faculty and staff can voice their opinions on the future of St. Cloud State’s academic structure. 

Those meetings will take place Wednesday from 2 to 4 pm in Voyageurs North, as well as Thursday from 10 am to noon at Voyageurs South.