Gone

Some California university degrees disappear amid budget cuts (excerpts):

Laurel Rosenhall, July 9, 2011, Sacramento Bee

…UC Davis students can no longer get bachelor's degrees in applied science, avian science or nature and culture. UC Santa Cruz has eliminated minors in computer technology, journalism and communication and rhetoric. As California's public universities look for efficiencies in the face of ongoing budget cuts, some long-standing fields of study are falling by the wayside…

"Clearly some of it is cyclical, but the budget cuts are accelerating the process and forcing the campuses to make some tough decisions," said Todd Greenspan, director of academic planning in the statewide president's office of the University of California. …UC estimates that across the state, it has saved $155 million over the last three years by eliminating or consolidating programs.

Campuses are still creating new areas of study, but fewer than in the past, according to the state agency that reviews proposals for new degrees from California's public colleges. A report last month by the California Postsecondary Education Commission says that from 2009 to 2010, the number of graduate program proposals from UC dropped by 35 percent. UC's five-year plan calls for developing 109 graduate programs, 42 undergraduate programs and five professional schools – while closing 15 programs and withdrawing another 57 from the planning process.

Many of the graduate programs being developed are essentially private schools with the UC brand – they receive no state funding and are paid for entirely by student tuition. Berkeley and Davis have proposed self-supporting master's degrees in accounting, while Riverside and San Diego want to create self-supporting degrees in engineering. UCLA is talking about converting its entire business school to a private self-supported model.

…Berkeley has eliminated several majors and graduate programs in the last few years: a Ph.D. in agricultural and environmental chemistry, master's degrees in Latin and Greek and bachelor of arts degrees in physical sciences and environmental sciences. It still offers a bachelor of science in environmental sciences…

At UC Davis, the decision to close the Department of Applied Science and eliminate a few majors this year was driven by a combination of declining student demand and budgetary constraints, said Patricia A. Turner, vice provost for undergraduate studies. The Department of Applied Science was projected to serve just eight undergraduates and 45 grad students for the fall. Rather than operate such a small department, the university decided to move faculty and students to related departments in the college of engineering…

Full story at http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/09/3757633/some-california-university-degrees.html

Can it be that, frankly, some folks in Sacramento don't give a damn?