Trustees approve sunsetting of low‑producing programs; academic reorganization review deferred

The Student and Academic Affairs Committee and the full Tennessee State University Board of Trustees approved recommendations Friday to close several low‑producing programs, including a proposal to sunset the bachelor of science in dental hygiene, while administrators returned other academic‑restructuring items for further clarification.

Interim academic leaders presented a five‑year review of program enrollments and recommended program closures, teach‑out plans and program consolidations to reduce duplication and align resources. Interim Dean Robbie Melton told trustees the review used a five‑year window and flagged programs with very low enrollment, in some cases one to three students over five years.

“Through this process…we have a recommendation to close low producing programs,” Melton said in presenting the list of proposed sunsets and modifications. The committee voted to recommend the low‑producing program actions to the full board; the full board later approved the closures.

Trustees pressed for details on cost savings, personnel impacts, accreditation and teach‑out arrangements. Melton and finance staff said the overall annualized savings from sunsetting, modifications and reorganizations would be roughly $1.2 million when vacancies and restructuring are taken into account. Dean Melton emphasized that the associate dental hygiene program — which produces practicing dental hygienists — was not being closed and would be enhanced; the bachelor's track was the item targeted for sunsetting.

Administrators also presented a package of academic unit reorganizations and program modifications across multiple colleges (Business, Education, Health Sciences, Liberal Arts, Engineering and Life & Physical Sciences). Those items included departmental consolidations in the College of Business, creation of a standalone BBA in business management from existing concentrations, elevation of a multidisciplinary concentration to a standalone BS and a degree designation change in engineering.

Trustees questioned whether some items were organizational restructures (college/departmental units) rather than academic program modifications that require Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) review. Charlize Anderson, a THEC representative on the call, advised that some items are modifications to existing academic units under THEC policy while others are program changes requiring separate submissions. Because the board packet grouped unit reorganizations and program modifications together, trustees asked administration to separate the actions into clear categories and return them for committee consideration.

The board voted to approve the low‑producing program actions today and to table the remaining academic program modification approvals pending clearer paperwork and process delineation. Trustees asked administration to return within a week with the reorganizations and program changes broken into THEC‑classified categories so the committee could act.