Academic review focuses on workforce impact and vitality of low enrollment programs

The office of the senior vice president and provost has launched a program vitality review to take a closer look at low-enrollment academic programs across campus.

The review is an outcome of the Iowa Board of Regents Workforce Alignment Review (PDF), presented at the board's November 2025 meeting (Inside coverage), which focused in part on underenrolled academic programs, defined as undergraduate programs with fewer than 25 majors and graduate programs with fewer than 10 majors. Only those programs defined as underenrolled are part of the review. 

Feedback on the process and timeline was solicited from multiple campus partners, including academic deans and department chairs, and the Faculty Senate executive board. Institutional research will provide data on enrollment and student credit hour production.

What does the review include?

The program vitality review, to be completed by the department chairs in partnership with program faculty, gathers a variety of information. Broad areas include:

• General information on the program.
• Quantitative information, including current enrollment of primary and secondary majors and any expected changes over the next three years.
• Program-specific information including student credit hour production, how the program supports both Iowa State's land-grant mission and strategic plan, and whether course offerings support other majors.
• How the program meets educational and workforce needs.
• Strategies to increase enrollment and other unique features of the program.
• How the program fosters career readiness skills in its students.

Six-month process will wrap up during spring semester

Work on the project has been ongoing since November, including developing the review criteria and securing feedback from faculty and academic leaders. Deans and chairs with underenrolled programs received the final review materials Jan. 30, and their responses are due back to the provost's office March 3. 

Potential outcomes of the review will vary by the nature of the program, but could include additional time to grow enrollment, exemptions for programs critical to Iowa's workforce needs, program consolidation, or recommendations for suspending or closing programs. Any actions would follow established university processes and require input or action from department, college and Faculty Senate committees, and ultimately, Iowa Board of Regents approval.