Post by Bornthrilla on Oct 19, 2023 23:20:02 GMT -5
UNCG Chancellor says they lost 2,500 students in the past 3 to 4 years
The university is conducting an Academic Portfolio Review that will look at all programs the school offers.
Author: Giselle Thomas
Updated: 8:46 PM EDT October 18, 2023
GREENSBORO, N.C. — There have been some rumblings about possible job cuts and program changes at UNC-Greensboro.
WFMY News 2 went straight to the Chancellor to get answers. He told us there's a lot he wants to clear up.
UNCG Chancellor Frank Gilliam said the university is in the process of conducting an Academic Portfolio Review.
He said it hasn't been done in over a decade and the purpose is to review and evaluate programs for their relevancy.
This comes as state funding is determined by enrollment. The chancellor said they've lost 2,500 students in the past three to four years.
"We have a deficit so that's one reason to do it. We have to ask ourselves, 'What should we be doing?' What can we afford to do? What can we not afford to do?" Gilliam questioned.
He said he wants to clear up what he calls 'misinformation' about certain programs. He believes rumors started after the university hired a data collection group.
"We hired a consultant group that is RPK whose job it is to build data and dashboards. It is publicly available, they make no recommendations on any actions that is not their job," Gilliam said.
We heard some claims that the nursing program was going to be cut.
"I can say with clarity that nursing will be at UNCG as long as I'm at UNCG. We just built them a $100,000,000 building," he said.
This afternoon there were some protesters outside of the nursing building who claimed they didn't want the Academic Portfolio Review to happen at all.
"My concerns are for the future. I'm concerned that the majors I have are not going to last through my entire career," student Alfred Zabo said.
The chancellor said the academic portfolio review is still in progress and no programs have not yet been selected. He said that students who are currently enrolled will not be affected by potential changes. UNCG said students won't see the results of these decisions until the next two to four years.
Some students also expressed concern about teachers. We asked the Chancellor what could happen to faculty and staff if programs get moved around or consolidated.
"This will be a long process, people will have the opportunity to re-assess their options. In some cases, they may be reassigned to other units. In some cases, we may merge programs. Some people may leave. There's no way to predict that, we have not made any decisions," Gilliam said.
UNCG statement:
"Let us be clear: Our Academic Portfolio review should provide several recommendations. We will identify programs that have capacity but need more resources to respond to increased demand, programs that may need modifications to remain competitive, and programs that may need to be discontinued. However, at this time, UNCG has not identified any programs for any of these potential outcomes. Decisions regarding any potential program reductions will not be made until early 2024 and therefore, new fall 2024 enrollment in specific academic programs may be impacted. The University will communicate which, if any, academic programs are not accepting new students as soon as possible in early 2024. Of course, any current students will be able to complete their degrees at UNCG as we are required to ensure that currently enrolled students can finish their degrees. Thus, any communication that states otherwise is factually incorrect and misleading.
-Kimberly Osborne, UNC Greensboro Interim Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications
Read more:
www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/education/uncg-chancellor-says-they-lost-2500-students-in-the-past-3-4-years-education-academic-review/83-043eed24-297c-4497-8d73-9e336fcb63c3?ref=exit-recirc
The university is conducting an Academic Portfolio Review that will look at all programs the school offers.
Author: Giselle Thomas
Updated: 8:46 PM EDT October 18, 2023
GREENSBORO, N.C. — There have been some rumblings about possible job cuts and program changes at UNC-Greensboro.
WFMY News 2 went straight to the Chancellor to get answers. He told us there's a lot he wants to clear up.
UNCG Chancellor Frank Gilliam said the university is in the process of conducting an Academic Portfolio Review.
He said it hasn't been done in over a decade and the purpose is to review and evaluate programs for their relevancy.
This comes as state funding is determined by enrollment. The chancellor said they've lost 2,500 students in the past three to four years.
"We have a deficit so that's one reason to do it. We have to ask ourselves, 'What should we be doing?' What can we afford to do? What can we not afford to do?" Gilliam questioned.
He said he wants to clear up what he calls 'misinformation' about certain programs. He believes rumors started after the university hired a data collection group.
"We hired a consultant group that is RPK whose job it is to build data and dashboards. It is publicly available, they make no recommendations on any actions that is not their job," Gilliam said.
We heard some claims that the nursing program was going to be cut.
"I can say with clarity that nursing will be at UNCG as long as I'm at UNCG. We just built them a $100,000,000 building," he said.
This afternoon there were some protesters outside of the nursing building who claimed they didn't want the Academic Portfolio Review to happen at all.
"My concerns are for the future. I'm concerned that the majors I have are not going to last through my entire career," student Alfred Zabo said.
The chancellor said the academic portfolio review is still in progress and no programs have not yet been selected. He said that students who are currently enrolled will not be affected by potential changes. UNCG said students won't see the results of these decisions until the next two to four years.
Some students also expressed concern about teachers. We asked the Chancellor what could happen to faculty and staff if programs get moved around or consolidated.
"This will be a long process, people will have the opportunity to re-assess their options. In some cases, they may be reassigned to other units. In some cases, we may merge programs. Some people may leave. There's no way to predict that, we have not made any decisions," Gilliam said.
UNCG statement:
"Let us be clear: Our Academic Portfolio review should provide several recommendations. We will identify programs that have capacity but need more resources to respond to increased demand, programs that may need modifications to remain competitive, and programs that may need to be discontinued. However, at this time, UNCG has not identified any programs for any of these potential outcomes. Decisions regarding any potential program reductions will not be made until early 2024 and therefore, new fall 2024 enrollment in specific academic programs may be impacted. The University will communicate which, if any, academic programs are not accepting new students as soon as possible in early 2024. Of course, any current students will be able to complete their degrees at UNCG as we are required to ensure that currently enrolled students can finish their degrees. Thus, any communication that states otherwise is factually incorrect and misleading.
-Kimberly Osborne, UNC Greensboro Interim Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications
Read more:
www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/education/uncg-chancellor-says-they-lost-2500-students-in-the-past-3-4-years-education-academic-review/83-043eed24-297c-4497-8d73-9e336fcb63c3?ref=exit-recirc
