The University System of Georgia (USG) released a report identifying low-producing degree programs at 24 institutions within the university system, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
The report states a total of 26 percent of Georgia State’s degree programs (undergraduate and graduate) are low-producing.
Programs are considered low-producing when they does not attract enough students to justify the cost, according to the article.
The article states the report found a total of 383 degree programs throughout USG to be low-producing.
Four research universities are home to 202 of the 383 degree programs including Georgia State, The University of Georgia and Georgia Tech. Georgia Regents University was also listed.
Georgia State’s Vice Provost, Tim Renick, said programs can be deemed low-producing for a number of reasons:
“In some cases there are genuine shortages of demand for certain programs but in the vast majority of cases, the programs on that list are on the list because of various specific issues surrounding the program,” he said. “In some cases they’re very new programs and haven’t had the chance to build up enrollment yet. In other cases they’re programs that share substantial numbers with other courses.”
Many courses belong to more than one program, which will also impact enrollment numbers, according to Renick.
Renick said he did not have a list of the specific low-producing programs readily available.
“The reality is Georgia State from my understanding has far fewer programs that are in the lower percent than many of its peers including the University of Georgia,” Renick said.
He also said he is not sure what type of action will be taken as a result of the report’s release.
The USG could not be reached to acquire the report by press time.
