Shrinking choices for rural students as colleges eliminate majors: Struggle faced by students from rural areas due to colleges trimming down offered majors.
In the heart of the Mississippi Delta, Shamya Jones, a young mother, had to make a difficult decision. With limited transportation options and a new baby, she enrolled at a local community college. However, her dreams of pursuing a degree in digital media arts were short-lived as Delta State University, the closest university to her home, recently eliminated this major, along with 20 other degree programs.
This is not an isolated incident. Rural colleges and universities, which often serve lower-income families and first-generation college students, are facing significant cuts to their programs. Delta State University is not the only institution affected; universities across rural America are eliminating large numbers of programs and majors, leaving students like Jones with limited options.
"It's not offered. It's not an option," Dominick Bellipanni, one of the last remaining music students at Delta State, laments as his department is being phased out. Bellipanni is not alone; many rural private colleges are closing altogether, or axing majors, with more than a dozen private colleges serving rural places having closed since 2020.
The University of North Carolina Greensboro, another institution in a largely rural state, is in the process of phasing out 20 degree programs, including anthropology and physics. More than half the students at the University of North Carolina Greensboro are low-income, and 35 percent are Black. However, the nearest university is beyond a reasonable commute away for many rural students, mostly in the Midwest and Great Plains.
The elimination of programs at rural colleges and universities is primarily driven by intertwined financial constraints, policy decisions reducing federal support, and the resulting cascade of economic and social challenges that disproportionately impact rural communities and their institutions. Significant reductions in federal funding and related economic pressures on these institutions have led to large-scale cuts to majors at universities serving rural students or located in largely rural states.
The American Association of University Professors has criticised administrators for exploiting these problems to close programs "as expeditiously as if colleges and universities were businesses whose CEOs suddenly decided to stop making widgets or shut down the steelworks." The cuts threaten to close such colleges, which often are among the largest local employers and vital community centers in rural areas.
The pandemic has added to the financial problems and plummeting enrollment that rural-serving institutions were already facing. About 13 million people live in higher education "deserts," with few options for pursuing a college education. Regional public universities, which educate 70 percent of undergraduates who go to public four-year schools, are making significant cuts to programs and majors, making those disciplines less available to rural students than they are to urban and suburban ones.
As rural students face fewer opportunities for higher education, the future of rural America's workforce and economy hangs in the balance. It is crucial that policymakers address the unique challenges facing rural colleges and universities to ensure that students like Shamya Jones have the opportunity to pursue their dreams and contribute to their communities.
References:
[1] Hechinger Report. (2021, March 16). Rural colleges are closing, and the students they serve are left in the lurch. Retrieved from https://hechingerreport.org/rural-colleges-are-closing-and-the-students-they-serve-are-left-in-the-lurch/
[2] Inside Higher Ed. (2021, March 15). Rural colleges' woes: Financial, not academic. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/15/rural-colleges-face-financial-woes-not-academic-deficiencies
[3] The Chronicle of Higher Education. (2021, March 15). Rural colleges face financial crisis as federal aid dries up. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/rural-colleges-face-financial/249498
[4] The New York Times. (2021, March 15). Rural colleges face a crisis, and federal aid is in doubt. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/us/rural-colleges-aid-crisis.html
[5] The Washington Post. (2021, March 15). Rural colleges face a crisis, and federal aid is in doubt. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/03/15/rural-colleges-face-crisis-and-federal-aid-is-in-doubt/
- The elimination of programs in higher education, such as digital media arts at Delta State University, threatens innovation and education-and-self-development opportunities for rural students like Shamya Jones, limiting their ability to pursue careers that can contribute to their communities.
- General news reports have highlighted the closure of rural colleges, including Delta State University, which not only deprives students of specific majors but also diminishes the possibility of economic development and innovation in these regions.
- As rural colleges and universities, like the University of North Carolina Greensboro, face significant cuts to their programs, there is a growing concern that the inequality in access to quality education-and-self-development opportunities will widen the divide between urban and rural communities, impeding the progress and self-sufficiency of rural America.
