Tennessee State trustees recommend terminating low‑producing programs, approve multiple academic unit changes

NASHVILLE — The Student and Academic Affairs Committee of the Tennessee State University Board of Trustees voted July 1 to recommend that the full board approve termination of several low‑producing academic programs and to approve a package of academic program modifications and unit name changes.

The committee, meeting by electronic participation, recommended terminating specific programs identified as low producing, including the Instructional Leadership Ed.S., the elementary education M.Ed., the Computer Information Systems Engineering M.S., the Professional School Counseling M.S., and the dental hygiene B.S., and approved a set of academic program modifications and departmental reorganizations meant to consolidate concentrations and move programs between academic units.

The committee chair, Trustee Norfleet, opened the item by noting the agenda included two parts: “low producing programs and academic program modifications,” and called on Dr. Charlice Anderson to present the materials already provided to trustees. Anderson walked through the proposed terminations and listed the academic modifications: elevating multiple concentrations to stand‑alone degrees, renaming departments, merging two education departments into the Department of Education Practice and Leadership, moving the Cardio Respiratory Care Science B.S. to the School of Nursing and renaming it the School of Nursing and Respiratory Care, and moving the B.S. in Health Information Management into the Department of Public Health, Health Administration and Information and Health Sciences. She also noted the multidisciplinary concentration within the B.S. in Arts and Sciences will be elevated to a freestanding Bachelor of Science in Multidisciplinary Studies and that the M.S. in Chemistry will be inactivated.

Trustees asked clarifying questions about which items were being handled as low‑producing program terminations and which would be handled as academic program modifications (APMs). Anderson explained that terminating concentrations differs from terminating programs; several concentrations will be elevated to standalone programs and thereby handled as APMs rather than as program closures. Chair Norfleet asked Secretary Brown to ensure the minutes distinguish which actions were the low producing programs portion of the agenda.

When Trustee Smith asked about projected savings from the package of modifications, Dr. Milton, a university administrator participating online, stated, “It's $1,200,000 in saving in cost savings.” When pressed on the period covered by that figure, Milton said the $1.2 million reflects the savings tied to the package of modifications “right now with all of the modifications,” and gave no additional multi‑year timeframe in the meeting record.

Trustee Smith moved to recommend that the full board approve the academic actions as outlined in the committee materials, and Dr. Charlice Anderson seconded the motion. In the roll call that followed, Trustee Norfleet voted yes, Trustee Smith voted yes and Trustee Young Sigler voted yes; the motion passed. The motion authorized university officers to take necessary steps and to work with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to implement the academic program and unit actions.

The committee record shows these items had been discussed previously at the committee’s June 13, 2025, meeting and that supplemental materials from June 2025 are part of the supporting record. No formal objections or recorded dissent to the recommendation were made on the record during the July 1 meeting.

The committee adjourned at 5:19 p.m. Central Time after the vote. The recommended actions now move to the full Board of Trustees for final consideration and to external agencies (THEC and SACS) as required for implementation.