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University to discontinue low‑enrollment French and German concentrations after review; trustees and alumni voice concern
Summary
Provost and administration reported that low enrollment led to termination of foreign-language concentrations in French and German; trustees urged reconsideration and asked for teach-out protections and adherence to faculty‑appeal procedures.
Committee members discussed the university's decision to discontinue certain foreign-language concentrations (French and German) because of persistently low enrollment.
Administrators said the concentrations had not attracted sufficient majors for an extended period and that multiple efforts to revive them had not produced viable enrollment; the decision to discontinue concentrations was made within normal academic-program review processes and did not require board action. President Odom (presenter) and academic leaders said fiduciary responsibility and THEC program-viability criteria informed the choice.
Trustees and alumni who spoke during the session said they were disappointed by the decision and urged exploration of alternate program models to retain broader language offerings. Trustee Wilmore called the outcome "extremely unfortunate" and said he would like future consideration of program delivery models that better attract engineering and international-business majors.
Provost Liu and administrators said the programs were improving in recent years and noted that foreign-language enrollments had been removed from THEC's low-producing list about a year earlier, but that the recent formal review and required turn-around timeline had not produced sustained enrollment. Trustees were told appeals by affected tenured faculty were in process and that teach‑out plans are being developed to protect students who have declared the concentrations.
Why it matters: foreign-language programs support institutional internationalization, language fluency for workforce needs and campus curricular breadth; discontinuation affects current majors, faculty assignments and regional perceptions of the university's global offerings.
Next steps: administration will develop detailed teach‑out plans for current students, comply with faculty appeal and separation policies as required, and continue to assess future demand for language instruction in other forms (electives, certificates, short programs).
