One of my higher-ed bugaboos is that Virginia’s public colleges and universities continually create new programs, but they rarely prune obsolete or unpopular programs. The relentless accumulation of academic superstructure makes it difficult to control costs, and, I have conjectured, has contributed to the steady inflation of tuition.
But let it not be said that Virginia institutions never trim their programs. According to documents presented to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the higher ed system has announced this month the shedding of two:
- Norfolk State University is discontinuing its Bachelor of Arts journalism program, originally established in 1974.
- Radford University is discontinuing its post-baccalaureate certification program in professional educational-leadership development.
Successful enterprises continually review their product lines and business lines, sell or liquidate under-performers, and reinvest the capital in more promising ventures. The idea is to redeploy capital to its highest and best use — a a discipline that colleges and universities should pursue more vigorously.
