University of Kansas details program-review changes, highlights med-center fixes and nursing enrollment steps

The University of Kansas on Wednesday told the Kansas Board of Regents’ FAST Committee that it has reorganized academic program review, is cycling programs through a four‑year deep review, and has taken concrete steps to close or consolidate low‑enrolled offerings while pursuing targeted investments to strengthen workforce‑relevant degrees.

The report matters because KU told the regents it has already discontinued dozens of majors and certificates since 2021, is using data tied to the KU strategic plan and KBOR metrics to set unit‑level goals, and is showing early returns in clinical programs such as nursing and laboratory sciences that affect health care staffing statewide.

KU Med Center’s vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, Robert Klein, briefed regents on med‑center program review and recent changes. “All KU Med Center undergraduate programs…meet identified minima,” Klein said. He told the committee that one master’s program in health informatics will be moved administratively to a different unit to consolidate similar offerings, that the master of science in molecular biotechnology was phased out with the last graduate in 2023, and that the campus created a clinical doctorate in clinical laboratory sciences that has enrolled successfully in its first two years.

Klein described the med‑center review cycle: departments complete a self‑study between January and July, a campus review committee of about 10 members meets with departments in the fall, and final reviews are shared with departments in December. He said specialized‑accreditation programs (for example, those reviewed by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education) already undergo extensive external reviews and the med center tailors internal review templates accordingly.

KU leaders also presented changes made in the School of Nursing. Klein and the vice provost said the school implemented Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) virtual NCLEX preparation and one‑to‑one sessions with ATI nurse educators; first‑time NCLEX pass rates rose from about 84% to roughly 99% after those and other curricular changes. The university is also exploring a trimester enrollment model and admitted a spring cohort to increase capacity within accreditor limits.

On the Lawrence campus, vice provost Jen Roberts described a portfolio review aligned with the institution’s Jayhawks Rising strategic plan. Roberts said the campus has roughly 390 programs across 11 schools and is running department‑level reviews so one quarter of programs are reviewed each year to complete a full cycle in four years. The process combines annual, data‑driven reporting with a deeper, four‑year self‑study and a 12‑member university committee that endorses goals and gives feedback.

Provost (KU) explained that the institution has taken a systematic approach to program health. Since the 2021 academic year KU reported discontinuing 86 majors and certificates, 10 graduate certificates and additional majors or certificates currently under review for academic year 2026. The provost said the institution is also removing duplicative minors, tightening graduate program policies and expanding transfer pathways from community colleges via several BAS/BPS offerings.

Regents pressed KU on several points during the meeting. Regent Kathy Johnston asked about administrative efficiencies for low‑enrollment programs; KU leaders agreed to discuss potential follow‑up and return with a report in the fall and a more detailed check in December tied to an 18‑month review schedule for programs on action plans. Regent Mendoza asked specifically about master’s fallback programs in biological sciences; KU officials characterized those degrees as pathways for students who did not finish doctoral training and said large numbers in fallback master’s programs would be a concern.

KU presented several clarifying program details: med‑center self‑study templates for specialized accreditation, a 4‑year academic program review timeline, multiple examples of program restructure and consolidation, and the institution’s use of a strategic alignment dashboard that links program metrics to the strategic plan.

The committee did not vote on program closures or reallocations at the Board level during the meeting. KU representatives reported internal discontinuances and action plans; some program closures and consolidations will be processed through university governance and then submitted to KBOR as required.

KU officials said they will continue to monitor low‑enrollment programs, pursue targeted strategic investments, refine transfer articulation with community colleges, and return to the regents with requested progress updates later in the year.