The College Fix

College cites financial concerns and lack of students interest

Goucher College, a private college in Towson, Maryland, recently announced it is phasing out several majors including mathematics, physics, and several liberal arts degrees as part of a “program prioritization process.”

In a letter to the campus community, college President Jose Bowen stated that the faculty “determined that we were offering some large, over-crowded majors where we need more faculty and courses, and other majors where student interest had waned and classes were routinely being cancelled because too few students had signed up.”

The letter also points directly to the increasing financial cost of attending college:

A college education in the United States now costs more than the vast majority of families can afford to pay. Goucher’s ongoing commitment to access and affordability has meant that over the past several years we have steadily lowered the amount students actually pay. This has been accomplished through increases in financial aid offered to students and last year’s bold decision to become one of the very few colleges ever to have frozen tuition.

According to a list on the school’s website, Goucher is phasing out the following majors: Elementary and Special Education, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Religion, Russian Studies, Studio Art, and Theatre. The page does clarify that although these majors are being phased out, the college will still offer courses in these fields of study.

Inside Higher Ed reports that the move has been met with backlash online. Twitter users responded with messages like, “since you’ve decided to phase out the theatre major, I will go ahead and phase out my financial donations,” and “do not go to #gouchercollege it is not what it seems.”

Read the full letter here and Inside Higher Ed report here.

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