Representatives of programs under review for elimination and consolidation have met the news with surprise and dismay, citing reasons to believe degree production will increase in the future.
A January Tennessee Higher Education Commission report identified 17 UT baccalaureate programs as “low-producing,” meaning there were less than an average of 10 bachelor’s degrees generated per year over the last five years.
Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said to the UT Board of Trustees Finance and Administration Committee on Feb. 26 that the following undergraduate programs were under review: Italian, German, Russian, art history, religious studies, geology, public administration and materials science and engineering. However, he said the numbers for materials science and engineering were being reviewed, as they were not believed to be accurate.
All of these programs were among the 17 that THEC identified as “low-producing.” Moreover, Karen Collins, director of media and internal relations, said the programs listed at the meeting were a sample of the 17. She said programs are constantly being reviewed, and the THEC report is only one of many factors that go into the review process.
She said deans will give information to the Office of the Provost by March 15. The information could contain how a program could be retained, a history of efforts to increase enrollment and graduate numbers, as well as future plans to do so.
George Pharr, head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, said the situation has been overblown in the media, and, after the THEC report identified the “low-producing” programs, these programs have begun undergoing a process to communicate with the university.
He said, as a result of the negative media attention, he has heard of at least two entering freshmen that are reconsidering attending the university because they think the program is in jeopardy.
Pharr said it was not surprising for materials science and engineering to be under review but that the program has a bright future. Twelve students could graduate this year, and more than 40 students are in the program’s freshman class.
He said goals have been set that are comparable to peer institutions in the Southeast.
“We made a concerted effort about two or three years ago to start increasing the size of the program and recruiting because this is an important area of technology for this region,” he said. “... The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the leading laboratory in the United States for materials development.”
Pharr said materials science and engineering sets itself apart in the College of Engineering.
“We’re a very highly producing department in terms of scholarships, in terms of the recent efforts here, in terms of research dollars, in terms of Ph.D. production, in terms of graduate student production,” he said. “We are a very research-oriented department, and we have a lot of research opportunities for undergraduates as well.”
Pharr said he did not feel materials science and engineering was in jeopardy.
“I think we will continue as an important discipline in engineering and an important discipline for this part of the country for the state of Tennessee in economic development,” he said.
Meanwhile, Stephen Blackwell, associate professor in Russian, is hopeful for the program’s future.
“Among students in the program, the reaction is great surprise,” he said. “And among faculty I’ve spoken to who are not in the Russian program, there’s a lot of disapproval of the idea of discontinuing Russian. … Because they recognize the importance of Russian culture to the university’s core mission of educating students about major cultures of the world.”
Blackwell said the enrollment numbers of the program are growing after more than doubling in the past decade. He said this increase was due to instruction quality and students’ growing interest in international happenings.
The program plans for even bigger growth in the future, Blackwell said.
“The program has been a little bit low compared to national averages for a few years, but we are poised to surpass national averages for the next several years and the foreseeable future,” he said. “And we think on those grounds, we should be spared review.”
Salvatore DiMaria, coordinator of the Italian program and professor in Italian, said the Italian program was just 35 students when he started at UT 24 years ago. It has since grown to about 350.
He said, during the summers, he’s taken hundreds of students to Italy as part of what he calls “the oldest and biggest Ready for the World Initiative program on campus.”
All these years, DiMaria said, were an investment by the university, one that would be wasted if the program was discontinued.
He said holding Italian to the same guidelines for degree production as other programs with much more resources does not make sense.
Jeff Mellor, professor in German, said faculty in the program have met the news of review with shock, thinking it is uncalled for.
He said the number of graduates from the program the last few years has been artificially low because the last two department heads were also from the German section of the department, so administrative duties diverted attention away from the classroom and mentoring students.
“That’s changed,” he said. “I’m one of those two department heads, and I’m back in the classroom full time.”
Loss of faculty has also caused the recent low production of bachelor’s degrees from the program, he said.
He said, however, an increase in students in the future, the success of established exchange programs and the impending arrival of companies to the East Tennessee area all show good signs for the future of the program.
Mellor, who has worked at the university for 38 years, teaches German 311 in the fall and German 312 in the spring. He said he has 27 students in his current course, and he had about 30 in the fall.
“Those are the largest sections I’ve ever taught in 38 years in this department,” he said. “And that I think indicates the kind of interest and prospects we have for increasing our degree production.”
He urged decision-makers at the university to show foresight.
“I think it’s really critically important that we don’t undermine or destroy the work of really decades for short-term, to me, short-term goals,” he said. “I think we’re living in an international economy. … If we cut off the ability for students to function in that economic world, we are doing our citizens a terrible disservice.”