Committee approves reorganization of College of Behavioral and Health Sciences departments

The Academic Affairs Committee on May 20 approved a proposal to reorganize two academic departments in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences to better align degree programs with common academic themes.

Provost Burns and Dean Pete Grandjean described the change as the product of a deliberate, faculty-driven review intended to eliminate unwieldy combinations of programs that had been grouped together historically. "We had speech-language pathology and audiology in the same department with tourism and hospitality management," Grandjean said, describing the prior configuration as an example of mismatched program groupings.

Grandjean said the realignment will not change degree requirements for currently enrolled students. "The degree programs will stay intact themselves, so it doesn't change the degree programs," he said. Trustees asked whether students currently enrolled would be affected; Grandjean and provost staff said existing students’ programs and degree paths would remain the same under the reorganization.

Trustees expressed support for the dean’s work and interest in seeing enrollment metrics that would indicate whether the reorganization improves program competitiveness. Chair Wright called the question and the motion carried.

Provost Burns and Dean Grandjean said the reorganization aims to improve program visibility to prospective students, increase synergy among faculty, and position programs for enrollment growth. Trustees asked for follow-up reporting on enrollment and outcome metrics after implementation.