As the University of Rhode Island prepares to release a new budget model on July 1, students and faculty are weighing what this change could mean for the future of academic majors and programs.
The university is moving away from an incremental budgeting system, in which colleges receive a certain amount annually, to a model that assigns resources based on activity, including credit hours taught, student enrollment, majors and other academic standards, according to the URI website.
“The goal is to really put the colleges and schools, and Graduate School of Oceanography, in particular, all the degree-granting colleges, in the driver’s seat,” Benson said. “We are hoping that there will be some incentives to grow new programs.”
Under the model, colleges will retain the income they generate and have more authority over how funds are spent, according to Benson. This independence allows colleges to respond more directly to student demand and newly popular fields.
“Colleges that have the academic mission are most in tune with their market and what students want,” Benson said. “They want colleges to feel, again, more in the driver’s seat to say, ‘Okay, this program is less popular and this program is more popular.”
The model could encourage the development of new academic offerings similar to workforce trends, according to Benson.
“We want to create a degree to match that field so that the education that you and other students are getting is really in line with sort of where an area is going,” Benson said.
Colleges can make cases to the university’s provost if certain programs need additional support, according to Benson.
“Each of the colleges have an opportunity to go to the provost and say, ‘Yes, it’s good that we’re getting allocation by activity, but we have some programs that require much smaller classes, or for accreditation reasons, they have to be this size, or they have unique nature, like a theater class,’” Benson said.
This shift has raised concern about programs with fewer enrollments or specialized requirements, according to Benson. Less popular majors could face funding challenges.
The institution’s chief academic officer will evaluate requests and make final decisions on funding adjustments, according to Benson.
As the new model takes effect, its impact on academic stability is an open question, specifically for departments that may struggle to attract large numbers of students.
