Influences on Academic Program Elimination

Gumport (2000; 2001) argued that higher education has shifted from a social institution to an industry preoccupied with increasing enrollment and revenue. The shift may result in academic restructuring decisions that neglect educational and social responsibilities. The influence of revenue and cost considerations was empirically tested through an examination of universities’ decisions to eliminate e-business master’s programs. Questionnaire methodology was used. Results suggest that enrollment had more influence on program elimination than other factors including the curriculum, faculty characteristics, and administration issues. Costs had no significant influence on the decisions which suggests that universities may be ineffectively patterning their behavior on industry.