After the Ohio University College of Business master’s students graduate this July, the full-time program will officially shut down.
“It was a really good program … but for us, it made sense to change,” College of
Business Dean Hugh Sherman said.
The college currently has 35 students enrolled in its 13-month program.
To supplement the loss, OU will expand its part-time master’s program. The university has added two more part-time classes since January, Sherman said.
OU now teaches six part-time classes of 35 students.
The part-time program allows OU to offer a master’s degree in business to students at both the Athens and branch campuses, he said.
“I’m not sure how big it will go, to be honest,” Sherman said. “There could be eight to 10 (classes) in another year.”
The college decided to cut the program when OU administrators announced this past fall that each college would have to find a way to reduce its budget.
“I think it’s an example of a very tough decision,” said Becky Watts, chief of staff to OU President Roderick McDavis. “We have to make those hard decisions.”
The program cost about $300,000 to run, and the college will reinvest that money in the part-time program, Sherman said, adding that faculty members and the director of the full-time master’s program will assume other positions in the college.
Although Sherman sought input from the college’s department chairs, he ultimately made the decision to cut the program, he said.
“We didn’t really save the money, but we moved (the funding and employees) over to the (part-time) program,” he said.
One student in the full-time program, Chauncey Jackson, said he understands it was a tough decision for the dean to make considering the college’s budget.
“I’m sure Dean Sherman did what they thought was best,” Jackson said. “I still think it’s a great opportunity, so in that respect, I think it will be fine.”
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