ARLINGTON, Va. — After a unanimous vote, Marymount University will lose 10 majors, many of which focused on the liberal arts.
Friday morning, the university's Board of Trustees voted 21-0 to eliminate nine undergraduate majors and one graduate program major. While the majors will be cut, individual courses on the subjects will still be offered and the 74 students currently enrolled in the programs will still get to complete their degrees.
"Overall, this is not because the university is suffering financially. It's because these programs are all very low performing with low enrollment rates and we've seen that over time," said Marymount University Spokesperson Nick Munson. "The student choices don't lie. We've seen that year-to-year when you have a major with zero students in it. How can you sustain that? That wouldn't be responsible."
Majors cut include history, math and English. Faculty, students and alumni have all started petitions hoping to save the majors, saying they are crucial to the school's identity. Some even held protests during the vote, upset that there wasn't much notification.
"It's disrespectful and discouraging when the school doesn't use the resource," said Marymount University Student Nick Blose. "They see us as an obstacle or a burden."
The programs that will be closed include:
- B.A. Art
- Current students enrolled in the program: 10
- B.A. Economics
- Current students enrolled in the program: 13
- The school will continue to have a B.S. in Economics
- B.A. English
- Current students enrolled in the program: 15
- B.A. History
- Current students enrolled in the program: 15
- B.S. Mathematics
- Current students enrolled in the program: 6
- B.A. Philosophy
- Current students enrolled in the program: 3
- B.A. Secondary Education
- Current students enrolled in the program: 0, not a primary major
- The school will continue to have a M.A. in Secondary Education as well as a B.A. in Elementary Education and a B.A. in Special Education
- B.A. Sociology
- Current students enrolled in the program: 8
- B.A. Theology & Religious Studies
- Current students enrolled in the program: 0
- M.A. English & Humanities
- Current students enrolled in the program: 4
Marymount University released a statement following the vote:
Today, the Marymount University Board of Trustees approved a faculty-led and administration-supported proposal to eliminate nine undergraduate majors and one graduate program that were no longer serving Marymount students. The impacted majors are rarely selected by Marymount students and, in fact, have only graduated a handful of students in the past decade. This decision reflects not only our students’ needs, but our responsibility to prepare them for the fulfilling, in-demand careers of the future. While Marymount students will still be required to study these subject areas as part of our core curriculum, they will no longer be offered as majors.
Marymount will always be dedicated to the education of the whole person. Every one of these foundational subjects remain part of our core curriculum, which supports our mission and Catholic identity. All University programs will continue to be grounded in the liberal arts and the Marymount University Board, President and Cabinet remain committed to continuously improving the student experience.
The proposal approved by the Board was rooted in data and research, and supported by insight and recommendations from faculty-led committees including the Faculty Advisory Council and the Academic Policy, Budget and Planning Committee. We are grateful for their contributions to this process.