The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) chancellor Dr. Bernie Patterson has announced it will make several adjustments to its degree programs after experiencing budget deficits and low student enrollment.
In the announcement, Patterson said that the new plan will “produce graduates who are among the best prepared professionals in Wisconsin.”
The new changes include the elimination of the following majors: French, German, geoscience, history, geography and two Bachelor of Fine Arts concentrations within the art major, according to ABC affiliate WSAW7.
The plan will also create two new entities, the Institute for the Wisconsin Idea, which will act as the liberal arts core curriculum and the Center for Critical Thinking, which will offer training to students as well as high schools and local businesses.
In addition, UWSP will reorganize traditional academic departments into new interdisciplinary professional schools that will serve under the university’s College of Natural Resources and Sciences, College of Professional Studies and the College of Fine Arts and Humanities.
University officials said they received a lot of input from faculty, staff and students when developing the new plan. UWSP will create a final plan to present to its System Board of Regents for approval in the spring before beginning the first stages of the plan.