OKLAHOMA COUNCIL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS / From the desk of Jonathan Small
Whether college officials like it or not, a university is a business. It must offer programs that appeal to consumers (by granting access to good-paying post-graduation jobs) and the school must also make certain that overhead does not exceed revenue.
For far too long, many academics have pretended that such concerns are beneath them, leading to overstaffed programs that pay instructors well but produce few graduates (and create even less opportunity for students).
Fortunately, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education are trying to address this problem.
As of Oct. 23, a recent review found there were 357 degree programs offered at Oklahoma state colleges and universities that produced less than five graduates within five years on average.
That represented 21 percent of the 1,714 programs offered at all Oklahoma colleges.
Of the 357 low-producing degree programs, 41 are now being eliminated while another 21 are being suspended.
“This effort underscores the state system’s commitment to aligning academic offerings with workforce demand, elevating student success, and prioritizing responsible stewardship of state resources,” said State Regents’ chair Courtney Warmington.
At Oklahoma’s smaller colleges and universities, many programs are small because the school’s overall registration is also relatively small.
But even at Oklahoma’s largest schools, there are programs that produce few graduates.
This year’s review found that 21 percent of degree programs at the University of Oklahoma are considered low producing, while the figure at Oklahoma State University was 14 percent. At the University of Central Oklahoma, the review found 10 percent of programs were low producing.
At OU, 16 of 62 low-producing degree programs are being eliminated or suspended. At OSU, three of the schools’ 36 low-producing degree programs are being deleted. At UCO, none of the 13 low-producing degree programs are being deleted or suspended.
Why were so many low-producing programs maintained? Because many of those degree programs are in fields we desperately need to grow in Oklahoma.
Among 102 low-producing programs, a release issued by the Regents said more than 80 percent reflect STEM or other high-need fields, including engineering, education, computer science, health professions, and natural sciences.
Even so, there were some programs maintained that appear to provide little value.
For example, OU is maintaining its Bachelor of Arts in African and African American Studies programs, despite the fact that the OU Daily recently reported that school officials declared OU’s African American Studies program “not salvageable.” The OU Daily reported the African American Studies program awarded just three degrees during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Obviously, there is still more work to be done, but the regents deserve praise for treating the college system as one intended to produce real benefit for Oklahomans, and not simply as a full-employment program for academics.
