Lilly Telfer isn’t going back to UNC Asheville.
Instead of returning this semester, Telfer decided to move back in with her parents in Florida, take classes at Tallahassee State College this fall and eventually transfer to Florida State University to study classical civilization.
It happened fast.
In June, Telfer received a campus-wide email from UNC Asheville Chancellor Kimberly van Noort announcing her major — ancient Mediterranean studies — was one of five academic programs that would be eliminated or curtailed.
The action came after First Tryon Advisors, an outside consultant, suggested a review of 14 programs at the liberal arts university as it faced an approximately $6 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year after years of declining enrollment.
The cuts, which affected primarily humanities, are part of a growing trend. As colleges across the nation address enrollment declines and financial stress, some are putting liberal arts majors and the humanities on the chopping block. This shift reflects a growing emphasis on degrees with more direct ties to employment — such as engineering and business — which many believe offer better financial returns for graduates and the states funding those programs.
She knew her program was on the line, but Telfer was still shocked.
“I never in a million years thought that my major was going to be cut,” she said.
UNC Asheville wasn’t the only university in the UNC System to see program cuts this year. UNC Greensboro cut 20 programs in February for similar reasons: a budget deficit and enrollment decrease.
More than 200 students at UNC Greensboro and 61 students at UNC Asheville will be impacted by the changes. Both universities promised those enrolled in the affected programs would be able to complete their degrees via individually tailored “teach out” plans over the next few years.
But for some students, like Telfer, it’s not enough.
“At that point, I’m not getting the degree in that major,” she said. “I’m getting a degree in whatever they created.”
Plans to ‘teach out’ students
Students in the affected programs who declared their majors prior to the cuts will be able to finish degrees with the specific courses they need to graduate.
At UNC Asheville, van Noort said less than 3% of the student body will be affected by the program cuts. In contrast, the eliminated programs make up 20% of the university’s departments.
“We know exactly what courses the students need to take and when,” van Noort said in an interview with The News & Observer. “So we’ll be able to provide that.”
Most of the programs eliminated at UNC Asheville are in the humanities — which are central to the university’s liberal arts mission — causing concern among both students and faculty.
“They’re small programs, it’s true,” Telfer said. “And I find it a little suspicious that of all of the programs that they cut, all of them are humanities- and liberal arts-focused. None of them are STEM-focused at all,” she said, referring to science, technology, engineering and math.
Van Noort said the university is “being very sensitive” to ensure that students’ experiences don’t change as a result of the cuts, though she added “there may be a few hiccups” where some students must take independent studies to complete their requirements.
Kayla Russell graduated from UNC Asheville’s drama department in 2015 — one of the programs now being eliminated.
She’s concerned about the “teach out” plans, especially for students within the drama department. Drama students learn about all aspects of theater, from acting to lighting design, in the program — and to Russell, that has been part of its strength.
“It doesn’t feel like they’ll be getting the same education that I got because it’s a fast track,” she said. “So I just feel like they’re making them rush through it.”
Some students might as well transfer to another university, Russell added, saying the cuts are making them put “their college careers on hold.”
Telfer came to the same conclusion.
For Telfer, attending a university that offered only the minimum amount of classes she needed to graduate with her major just didn’t make sense, especially for a price tag of nearly $25,000 for the 2024-25 academic year, including out-of-state tuition and fees.
Cuts impacting the liberal arts
The program cuts at UNC Greensboro also affected the liberal arts curriculum, including some STEM programs. Majors and degrees in anthropology, geography, math, physics and religious studies are among those affected.
Sophie Wilson graduated from UNC Greensboro this year with a degree in anthropology. It was an unusual feeling to be part of one of the last classes of students to graduate with the major, she said.
When she and others in the anthropology department heard their major was going to be cut, they came together to oppose the decision.
“I found myself closer than ever with my peers,” Wilson said, “and it’s a very important program to a lot of us in a liberal arts school.”
If UNC Greensboro had not offered the major when she was applying to college, Wilson said she wouldn’t have attended.
“I think that’s the wonderful thing about anthropology in particular, it just teaches us to observe one another, and that’s something that I know we need more of nowadays,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that so many of the programs that UNCG has cut are liberal arts, because it’s known as a liberal arts school.”
UNC Greensboro alumni and students wrote letters, engaged with open forums and rallied against the cuts during the last academic year. Wilson joined the protests, along with many students in her department.
But the decision held despite the pushback.
“It felt like it was hard to have an honest and open conversation about things,” Wilson said, “especially when it felt like the students and the professors weren’t necessarily being listened to at the end of the day.”
A ‘unique draw’
UNC Asheville’s liberal arts education was also one of the main reasons now-senior Sarah Booth decided to attend.
Though she understands that van Noort had to take action because of the university’s budget deficit and low enrollment, she finds the cuts frustrating.
“I think that the unique draw that UNCA did have is fading very quickly, especially since this last chancellor has come in and has tried to make it like all the other schools,” Booth said. “People come to UNCA for the liberal arts education.”
Van Noort said the university will preserve its liberal arts core despite the program cuts.
She emphasized that several disciplines, from the humanities to STEM, benefit from a liberal arts curriculum.
“Those critical thinking and communication skills that allow you to apply that breadth of knowledge to a variety of different problems — that really is what we want to preserve as the core of liberal arts that we offer here,” van Noort said.
Russell doesn’t think the cuts end UNC Asheville’s status as a liberal arts university, but they are “starting that dwindling process.”
Leaving UNC Asheville
The transition to Florida State has been hard for Telfer, she said. She said switching universities set her behind, and she misses the freedom she had at UNC Asheville to explore different things.
Just a few months ago, she was sitting in class planning out her path to graduation at UNC Asheville. Now, she’s figuring out how to transfer those credits.
Telfer is planning a nine-hour road trip back to Asheville to see her friends.
“I text them incessantly,” she said, “I’m constantly sending all of them TikToks, and I’ve already told them that I will come visit.
“The drive is long, but it’s not that bad.”
This story was originally published August 21, 2024 6:00 AM.
