Students progressing through low enrollment degree programs at Purdue University won’t be impacted by new enrollment quotas, officials in West Lafayette said this week.
In a release, the university said there won’t be immediate program changes. Officials said they’ve received a preliminary and now outdated list of low-conferred degree programs from the state and said it expects an updated version later this summer.
“Any potential decisions would follow in accordance with that future list by the end of the 2025-26 academic year. Lists recently shared by the media are not accurate,” the release stated.
It couldn’t be determined, however, if the response from West Lafayette included just that main campus or also its Purdue Northwest campuses in Hammond and Westville.
Officials at PNW referred questions to the main campus, which didn’t immediately respond to an email.
The university said degree programs would not expire until students currently enrolled complete their studies.
Purdue said it has multiple options, including merging low-enrollment programs into one program. It said merging programs wouldn’t reduce student opportunities.
“In fact, historically and currently there are many cases where multiple majors reside in one degree program,” the release said.
Universities across the state are reassessing their low enrollment degree programs after the state’s two-year budget bill called for quotas that call for an average enrollment of 15 or more for three consecutive years in bachelor degree programs, 10 students in associate programs, 7 in master’s, and 3 in educational specialist and doctorate degree programs.
Permission must be granted from the Commission for Higher Education if they fall under the quotas three straight years.
The GOP-dominated General Assembly added the quotas to the state budget in the waning hours of the four-month session and Democrats opposed it.
According to the preliminary data, 76% percent of small degree bachelor programs at IU Northwest in Gary and 53% of bachelor degree small enrollment programs at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond and Westville could be affected.
Officials at Indiana University-Bloomington didn’t return an email for comment.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
