Indiana’s Higher Education Commission has flagged roughly 1,000 degree programs at public colleges for potential elimination, citing low enrollment and low post-graduation wages. Syracuse University recently announced the elimination of 93 academic programs. Similar reviews are underway in multiple states, with humanities majors, niche programs, and low-enrollment specializations the most exposed.
Why It Matters: Major selection has become a more consequential decision than it was even five years ago. The major a student picks now affects not just admissions odds (CS and engineering at top schools admit at half the institutional rate) but also whether the program will still exist by the time they graduate. Families should verify that intended majors are stable at every school on the list, particularly for humanities, area studies, and specialized programs at mid-tier and regional institutions.