As Inside Higher Ed reported last week, Indiana, Ohio, Utah, and Texas’s mandates to review or remove public college programs with low enrollments could be the death of foreign language study.
Even without legislative mandates, foreign languages are often the first liberal arts majors to be cut when colleges drop low-enrollment programs. programs. West Virginia University gutted its language offerings in 2023, and six institutions in Ohio cut or consolidated language programs last year.
Higher education should not cut low-enrollment programs without considering outcomes. Students who major in foreign languages have lower unemployment rates and higher mid-career incomes than those in other majors, according to a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Computer engineering, physics, and anthropology have the highest unemployment rates, ranging from 8% to 9%. By contrast, only 4% of foreign language graduates are unemployed, below the average college graduate rate of 6%.
The program cuts made by the Indiana University (IU) system are particularly radical. The state flagship, IU-Bloomington, with top-tier language programs, is listed by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education as “voluntarily” eliminating or suspending over 100 majors or graduate programs, including what appear to be all modern and classical language programs, undergraduate and graduate. Yet the IU system had options. Purdue University – West Lafayette, the main campus of the Purdue University system, only has seven program cuts, and no languages.
According to the Herald-Times, some programs currently slated to be closed or merged at IU-Bloomington, such as Spanish, may survive. This would be welcome news. Either way, in budget decisions, university leaders should consider student outcomes and broad offerings in the liberal arts.
On or about July 15, 1799, Napoleon’s soldiers in Egypt took possession of what would become known as the Rosetta Stone. Unlocking hieroglyphics for the first time, the discovery would change the course of human understanding of history and culture. Language studies, when done right, help students grasp our common humanity. This pursuit holds value beyond enrollment trends.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has recognized the Center for Public Service at the University of Pikeville, Concourse at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University as Oases of Excellence.
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