Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.Indiana’s public colleges and universities will eliminate or suspend 210 degree programs due to low graduation rates, higher education officials announced Wednesday, as part of a state-mandated review of degrees that don’t attract enough students.The Commission on Higher Education and all seven public universities in Indiana reviewed more than 1,000 degree programs that failed to graduate enough students as defined by a 2025 law. Almost half of these programs will be allowed to continue while they build enrollment.But 210 programs will be eliminated, and another 370 will be merged or consolidated into similar degree programs as part of the process prescribed by the law, HEA 1001. The goal is to align programs to student interests, officials said. “We all know that students have been voting with their feet since the Great Recession,” said Matt Butler, senior associate commissioner and chief academic officer, who presented the degree recommendations to the commission.The number of students affected by the changes is relatively small. In total, the 1,056 programs officials reviewed enroll only around 4% of Indiana’s college students. The nearly 600 programs targeted for suspension or elimination enroll just 0.6% of all students in Indiana.Programs were targeted for review based on a three-year rolling average of their number of graduates. The threshold was set at 10 graduates for an associate’s degree, 15 graduates for a bachelor’s degree, seven graduates for a master’s degree, and three graduates for a doctorate. Students who are currently enrolled in programs targeted for suspension will be allowed to complete their degrees, but the programs must stop enrolling new students. Programs are typically eliminated after these teach-outs are complete. See the list of all degree programs affected by institution below.The vote on Wednesday builds on a voluntary decision last summer by state universities to eliminate, suspend, merge, or consolidate around 372 programs — a process that Butler described as “clearing the cobwebs.” In total, since June 2025, universities have taken some kind of action on 1,279 programs — most of which were under-enrolled. By the end of the 2026-27 school year, 661 programs will be streamlined, according to the presentation to the commission — around 58% are mergers or consolidations, 26% are suspensions, and 17% are eliminations. Indiana’s public universities will still offer around 1,700 degree programs after 2026-27, officials said.“Students and their families invest significant time, money, and trust into postsecondary education, and they deserve confidence that programs are viable, aligned with student interests and workforce needs, and positioned to deliver real outcomes,” Education Secretary Katie Jenner said in a release. “By right‐sizing degree pathways across the state, we can continue to strengthen higher education in Indiana through increased transparency and improved alignment with student interests and real career opportunities.”The review of programs with few graduates is separate from a forthcoming review of low-earning programs in Indiana as mandated by legislation adopted this year, SEA 199. The state expects to begin that review after finalizing the enrollment review. But the timeline depends in part on when the federal government provides a list of programs that fail to raise graduates’ earnings above those of a typical high school graduate’s. The state expects that list in 2027. Jenner — who oversees both K-12 and higher education in the state — said she expects the commission to allow some low-earning programs to continue after that review. Many of the low-earning programs flagged by the U.S. Department of Education will come from for-profit institutions in Indiana, which the commission does not oversee, she said. Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
