Program Closures

Which programs were closed?

The programs closed by the UCF administration are Cardiopulmonary Sciences, Engineering Technology, Management and Information Sciences, Radiologic Sciences, and Statistics and Actuarial Sciences. A list with the number of students, faculty, and staff affected, plus cost savings may be found here.

How can I learn more about these programs?

Read fact sheets for the Cardiopulmonary Sciences, Engineering Technology, MIS, and Radiologic Sciences Programs. Also, be sure to check out the "Save the Programs" rally sheet.

How have program elimination decisions been made?

The decision to eliminate departments and programs is far from transparent. According to the President and Provost, discussions began with Deans "several months ago". A group of select "advisory" professors also participated in discussions about possible eliminations.

According to the Provost's web-site, across-the-board cuts, applying the legislature's cuts to all colleges and departments evenly, was not sufficient, so they moved to program eliminations. Other kinds of targeted cuts do not seem to have been seriously considered.

The process seems to be super-secret; so much that meetings to discuss it have been paperless, so that no advance documentaion was given and no minutes were kept.

In the senate meeting to announce the decision, the President and Provost argued that nobody in a unit that was not doing well should be surprised by being slated for elimination. Annual reviews of programs should have given sufficient feedback to Chairs. However, the chair of one department has told UCF-UFF members that the decision to eliminate that department was a complete surprise.

Provost Hickey's advice to other departments and programs that might not appear to be doing well (see data discussed below) was to "take program reviews very seriously".

What criteria does the Administration use to evaluate programs for elimination?

The President has in the past indicated that five criteria would be considered when deliberating about possible program deletions:

  • Centrality to the Mission and Identity of UCF. This, according to President Hitt, is "somebody's subjective measure" of whether they can imagine UCF without that program, unit or department. When asked who that "somebody" is, President Hitt said identified them only as "informed academic people". He said that if many such people tell him that the program is not central to UCF's mission or identity, then it's ranked low on centrality. It's clear that these advisors are not a particularly representative sample of "informed academic people", however, since this group seems to be personally selected trusted confidantes only.

  • Quality of the programs. This is measured by number of Student Credit Hours generated per faculty, the number of majors per faculty, students' entrance exam scores (e.g. SAT, GRE), and C&G awards. It is significant to notice that as long as students take courses, the administration appears unconcerned with the quality of those courses. The more students each faculty member teaches the better, by their measures. If you are able to teach quality courses while your class sizes increase, this appears to be up to your own sense of integrity and concern for students' education.

  • Cost of the program or unit. This is measured by comparing departments against the university averages for expenses per SCH, expenses per Faculty FTE, and SCH per Faculty FTE.

  • Demand for the program, measured by student enrollment and numbers of majors. Employers' interest in hiring graduates is also considered, but it is unclear how this is measured.

  • Comparative advantage (or Competitive advantage). This considers whether UCF graduates in a program have an advantage compared to those of other Florida universities, as well as whether the program distinguishes UCF from other Florida universities. It is unclear how this is measured.

      • The above criteria seem to be in order of significance. President Hitt indicated that Centrality and Quality were most important, but in these times "cost also becomes a significant factor".

      What data is the administration using to decide on program eliminations?

      This file was distributed at the Senate meeting on June 4th. It separates departments into three sections, as either high, medium, or low centrality.

      Within each "centrality" section, data about each program's cost, quality and demand is arranged by red, yellow or green lights. These colors compare each department to the university average; indicating whether the department is below 85%, between 85% to 115%, or above 115% of the UCF average.

      The mysterious and opaquely-measured criterion of "Centrality" seems to be the most weighty characteristic. It appears significant that two of the three departments rated as "low centrality" have been slated for elimination.

      What is the process for programs slated for elimination?

      The people in the to-be-eliminated programs will have at least two semesters notice. Students will have two years to finish their program, or to find alternatives if they can't finish in that time. Some faculty may stay for up to two years, to help with this process. Administrators and others who may find a place elsewhere at UCF will be given help to relocate to other units.

      The decision to cut programs will make its way through Department chair review, College curriculum committee review, Deans review, University curriculum committee review, UG or Grad Dean review, provost's "approval" (not review!), President's "approval" not review), and BOT "approval".

      When asked about this process, and what a curriculum committee review that disagreed with this recommendation would amount to, Provost Hickey responded that these would be "seen as suggestions". In other words, it seems that he'd ignore review results that differed from his announcement. He expects these committees to be formalities, rather than engaging in any serious review.

      What can you do?

      The Provost has a site set up for receiving suggestions on how UCF can save money. He says he reads and carefully considers all the comments there. He calls it a "blog" but no comments are publicly posted.)

      However, feedback sent here is only considered by him in private. We suggest you also send copies of your feedback suggestions to UCF-UFF (webmaster@uffucf.org), so that we can collect them and hold the President and Provost publicly accountable when they claim that there are no alternatives to program eliminations.

      Plan on attending a rally at the 23 July 2009 Board of Trustees meeting to be held in the Live Oak Center, so that we can collectively show the BOT our concern for the consequences to UCF of resorting to program eliminations.

      Write letters to the editor, send suggestions for budget savings to the Provost and to UFF-UCF, write to and call your state legislators, and talk to your friends about your concerns for the quality of education at UCF in the face of budget cuts and program eliminations. Remind them how rising student to faculty ratios decrease the quality of education we are all concerned to maintain.

      Join your union. University administration has employed many tactics lately that seem aimed at dividing faculty and undermining solidarity; these program eliminations are a pointed example. Show them that their lack of concern for faculty and student morale, and their lack of transparency and accountability in this process, can backfire. It can bring us to stand together in our concern for faculty and student rights, and for the quality and integrity of the university we serve. Membership information is here.

      Remember, if you are laid off unfairly the union can only file a grievance on your behalf and provide an experienced UFF grievance representative to help you if you were a member when the violation of your rights happened.