University Faces Tough Choices in Program Review

The Office of the Provost launched a yearlong initiative Sep. 17 to evaluate each university major and minor, deciding which to grow, restructure or phase out entirely. Each major and minor’s fate lies in the hands of 18 professors who will develop a list of criteria to check each program against.

Two names of professors who were willing to work on the review process were provided by the heads of each degree granting institution, the Faculty Council, the Board of Undergraduate Studies and the Graduating School Coordinating Board. From there, the professors were selected by Provost and Chief Academic Officer Douglas Woods through a process of recommendation and review. By late February, they will have determined which majors and minors to keep for the 2026-2027 academic year according to a summary of the Sept. 17 meeting.

Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives Michael Rozier, S.J., said he was asked by Woods to chair the group of 18. Rozier previously studied resource allocation for community health improvement. Outside of the program revision process, his research focuses on how to respond to populations facing unlimited needs with limited resources.

“What can we do to use our limited resources to give you all the best experience possible?” Rozier asked.

Nationally, humanities programs have faced cuts or elimination from President Donald Trump, who publicly accused federal agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities for trying to advance a “woke agenda,” The Associated Press reported.. 

While faculty have been tasked with overseeing the program evaluation process, fourth-year political science and Latin double major Jannah Ahmed began to raise awareness among her peers. She said she first learned about the process through conversations with professors, and questioned what this downsizing at Loyola could mean for humanities majors and minors at the university. 

“I am concerned about how it disproportionately affects the arts and the humanities at a school that’s kind of predominantly STEM heavy,” Ahmed said. 

In a letter to faculty, Woods said he prefers to take deliberate action now while they’re in a strong position rather than be forced into making more extreme decisions under pressure later, as others have been.

However, Ahmed said she doubts the initiative is truly intended to make room for other majors and minors — nor does she believe it’s a response to the Trump administration’s threats.

“The reason I’m not fully convinced is because, first of all, we’re a private institution, so while we do take federal funding, I don’t think we’re as influenced by federal funding as maybe other schools are,” Ahmed said. “Illinois is pretty progressive in that sense, so we’re safer from the kind of laws that would legislatively make a school kind of cut programs.”

Loyola is bracing for significant impact from federal funding cuts which target research grants and student loan programs. The university faces a loss of 85% in federal work study support, the termination of key federal loan programs and 39 million dollars with the elimination of Grad Plus loans, The Phoenix previously reported.

Rozier said regardless of who was in the current presidential office, this initiative would’ve been established either way due to the upcoming enrollment cliff, The Phoenix previously reported. 

“There was a significant decline in the fertility rate in 2008,” Rozier said. “We’re going to have a smaller number of students, potentially across all of our campuses nationwide so a lot of universities have been anticipating this for quite some time.”

Nationwide, university closures have become demonstrative of the pressures facing higher education as the long-anticipated decline in college-aged students begins to actualize, according to NPR.

Rozier said he believes Loyola is in a riskier place than other institutions due to recent changes to the federal loan program. 

“If potential students and their families are more price sensitive because the loan programs are uncertain, that’s going to make it a bigger risk for Loyola than public institutions,” Rozier said.

Over 2,300 students borrowed more than the Parent Plus Loan cap recently established by President Trump, and Loyola has previously relied on federal aid to distribute over 200 million dollars to over 10,100 students, The Phoenix reported. 

Associate Professor for Classical Studies and Director of Women’s Studies and Gender Studies Leanna Boychenko said as the initiative was still in its early days, the Office of the Provost asked staff to limit discussion and instead ask questions directly to him.

The Office of the Provost said their goal is to best serve the Loyola community in their decisions.

“The Provost’s office, in consultation with faculty across the University, will lead a process to evaluate our academic programs. Determining which programs to sunset and which to retain will allow us to most effectively resource programs that will best serve our mission,” The Office of the Provost wrote in an email to the university.

Boychenko said she hopes they will stay true to their goal of upholding the university’s mission.

“Whenever you hear the word ‘sunset’ it makes people nervous, especially with smaller programs, and especially as you see what is going on throughout the country,” Boychenko said. “People are very nervous about that, and whether we stay true to our mission as a university.”

Jesuit values such as Cura Personalis and Magis shape the educational experience offered at the university, according to Loyola’s Student Development page. The website says these values guide students when “fostering an environment of personal growth, ethical leadership, and meaningful service.”

Ahmed said the lack of transparency is a big issue for them with this initiative.

Ahmed said it was a combination of factors — students weren’t fully engaging with available information, but there was also a lack of clear communication. They said when the email was sent out, the relevant details were only a small part of the overall strategic plan page, and most students didn’t even know about it, creating a significant transparency problem.

The Program Array Review was released Sept. 16 and explained the first strategic pillar of the plan. 

Second-year classical studies and religious studies student Jarilo Perkovic said jokes about potential sunsetting are very common in his department. 

“Some of it makes sense, but it seems unfair at times,” Perkovic said. “I have heard that some professors have received emails saying, ‘Hey, you need to be strict about budget this year,’ and that’s a little depressing.”

The nursing program has also faced problems as a result. First-year nursing student Sophia McCombs said her class had a larger number of students than previous years. This change forced staff to make last-minute adjustments to accommodate when students are able to take their first-year chemistry course.

“Certain students will take it their first semester, and then the other half will take it the second semester, when typically all students would take it the first semester,” McCombs said. “It has caused some confusion for me and some other students who have been wondering if we have accidentally not signed up for this class that we are supposed to take this semester.”

Rozier said small programs and big programs like the nursing program share similar issues if they lack the proper resources. 

“Programs that grow too big and are under-resourced are just as at risk of having a poor student experience as a small program that’s under-resourced, so that’s how we think about it,” Rozier said. “That’s when we ask what does a particular program really need to be successful and give a strong student experience, and can we provide it?”

Second-year theology and anthropology student with an American Sign Language (ASL) minor Hollis Kolb said his minor has struggled to get recognition.

“The teachers and students have been fighting hard to try and get an ASL minor added and it still hasn’t been approved despite conflicting information and wide interest,” Kolb said. “Every year there is a waitlist for ASL.”

While administrators emphasize the practical need for a program review, students and staff — particularly those studying or teaching humanities — worry these changes could diminish Loyola’s identity as a Jesuit, liberal arts institution. 

Boychenko said these majors and minors aren’t just academic offerings, but essential components of what makes Loyola distinctive.

“I would say that Loyola right now is faced with a choice of whether they prioritize their distinction as a liberal arts institution and as an institution that values Jesuit principles or whether they are willing to sacrifice some of those qualities for whatever funding purposes,” Ahmed said. “Both can’t exist in the same context.”

Rozier said he’s open to integrating student voices more formally into the process, especially through bodies like student government.

“The humanities, these are what cultivate and free your minds in society,” Ahmed said. “It develops people into people who are freer thinkers and more conscientious, more empathetic, and that’s essential for being a better person, a better citizen.”