Rethinking Our “Majors”

Over the past year, we’ve had to make difficult decisions about discontinuing programs with low enrollment. It’s a challenge many institutions are facing, and one that invites us to think differently about what comes next.

In a recent conversation with the IFC Executive Committee, I was pleased to learn that our faculty are keen to consider innovative ideas to address this issue. That openness creates an opportunity, not just to adjust but to reimagine.

What if we think differently about our programs of study, more precisely about our ‘majors’?

As we revisit our general education curriculum and build on our efforts to help students develop skills of discernment, could we also pilot a more flexible Bachelor of Science degree program that is built around stackable certificates?

What would such a degree look like?

Once a student completes their general education requirement, they would add certificates towards this general degree. Each certificate would be comprised generally of a sequence of three courses (9 credits). These certificates would be drawn from different areas such as creative writing, AI, communications, business, legal studies, digital storytelling, history, actuarial science, or philosophy to name a few. They would allow students to build expertise across disciplines. Faculty would shape the course sequence and content within a certificate, and students would choose their path across certificates. They would stack the required number of certificates needed to receive the 120 credit hours required for the degree.

This model would not apply to professional programs such as nursing, dentistry, or social work, but it could be piloted in other areas.

Would this compromise depth for breadth?

We would need to design the certificates without compromising rigor in content so that students graduate with the knowledge and skills they need for careers or graduate study. Students would still engage deeply in a field and may choose more than one certificate within the same field (for instance, a certificate in actuarial science and a certificate in designing flood insurance for FEMA). But instead of being defined by a single major, their education would ensure that their learning gives them problem solving skills that are valued in their roles and for their careers.

What would the governance structure look like?

At the very least this format would require content coordination across units and disciplines in ways that we have not hitherto done. We would need to create effective governance structures that ensure input from appropriate stakeholders along with a resource allocation model that supports such coordinated work.

Will the market accept such a degree?

Last week, we saw glimpses of a response to this question at a couple of events - the Lilly co-op poster session and the IU Indianapolis Student Startup Showcase. At both events, our students demonstrated what this kind of learning might look like in practice. The posters showed that Kelley students learned to code. Luddy students explored creative writing. Biology students built and presented business cases. Across disciplines, our students had combined skills in communication, AI, and science to solve problems, think critically, and present ideas with clarity. Their success wasn’t defined by their major; it was defined by their ability to connect their classroom curriculum to solve real-world problems that was not confined to their ‘major’.

Will this address low enrollment challenges?

Under this more flexible degree model, a student's program of study would not be tied to a single major vulnerable to job market shifts. This could help students in certain majors from having to graduate into a weak market as is currently happening in computer science. From an enrollment perspective, the flexibility would draw strength through shared participation from multiple disciplines, hence be less vulnerable to the low enrollment threshold challenge for any one discipline/major.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Go Jags!

Latha Ramchand
Chancellor