Dive Brief:

• Columbia College Chicago is set to cut 11 degrees — four undergraduate and seven graduate — as part of a finalized plan to revamp program offerings and plug budget holes. 
• Another nine programs will combine existing degrees or new concentrations, which will result in the end of seven standalone degrees, according to a message Monday from Columbia Interim President Jerry Tarrer. 
• The private nonprofit arts college expects to eliminate up to 25 faculty positions through the restructuring. “I acknowledge these decisions are painful,” Tarrer said. “However, these actions are also necessary for the long-term success of our cherished college.”

Dive Insight:

Columbia has been bracing for program cuts since September when the provost’s office recommended eliminating 10 programs and consolidating many more. 

Before that, Columbia’s previous president, Kwang-Wu Kim, warned that falling enrollment and projected deficits posed an “existential threat” to the institution. The former president said this spring that enrollment had fallen 36% since 2013 and deficits would top $30 million annually in future years if Columbia didn’t take action. As of fall 2024, the college had 5,450 students.

Tarrer and Provost Marcella David explained the broader problem in a September message. “The number of programs we offer in our program array reflects a time when we had many more students,” they said. 

The pair noted then that a majority of Columbia’s programs enrolled fewer than 50 students and cost more to deliver than they collected in tuition. 

“This is not a sustainable educational model, and it does not permit innovation: our efforts to continue to fund our current array of 58 undergraduate programs has stretched us thin,” Tarrer and David wrote. 

Through the program cuts, Columbia expects to meet a goal to save $3.4 million in faculty salary expenses over two years. To get to that goal, college officials are also planning on a round of voluntary buyouts this spring.

Those programs to be eliminated are: 

• Environmental and sustainability studies bachelor’s.
• American Sign Language bachelor’s.
• Cultural studies bachelor’s.
• Art history bachelor’s.
• Creative writing fine arts master’s. 
• User experience and interaction design master’s.
• Cinema and television producing fine arts master’s.
• Acting and contemporary performance master's.
• Acting and contemporary performance fine arts master’s.
• Fine arts master’s.
• Photography fine arts master’s.

Students enrolled in programs being eliminated will be able to finish their degrees as planned, the college said. The programs will stop taking new students in fall 2025.

It’s not all cuts at Columbia. The college also plans to launch a new beauty management program and is exploring new offerings in film and television production, textile design, professional writing and industrial design. 

Tarrer said Monday that Columbia’s goal is to “keep our college competitive in an increasingly challenging higher education landscape and position our students to be ever-more competitive in their professional endeavors.”