Major changes are coming to East Carolina University as the school moves to slash $25 million from its budget.
In a sweeping reorganization, ECU is discontinuing 44 academic programs, including degrees in economics, sociology, and several engineering specialties. University officials say the cuts target the bottom ten percent of programs with the lowest enrollment and graduation rates.
But it’s not just the classrooms seeing a shift. ECU plans to merge the College of Health and Human Performance with Allied Health Sciences by July 1st, while also consolidating campus library services.
Chancellor Philip Rogers says these 'difficult but necessary' moves are a response to a shrinking population of college-aged students and volatile state funding.
The university assures current students in the affected programs that 'teach-out' plans are in place so they can finish their degrees. For new students, however, those doors are now closed.
