Academics
Teach-Out & Program Discontinuation
When a low-enrollment program is discontinued, every currently enrolled student in it is guaranteed a path to finish — that guarantee has a name and a process.
Why programs get discontinued
A program is reviewed for discontinuation when the seven-year program review (see academic program review) finds sustained low enrollment, weak job placement, or a cost of delivery the college cannot justify against demand. Discontinuation is a Board of Regents–level decision, not something a department or dean decides alone.
The teach-out guarantee
Every student already admitted to a discontinued program is guaranteed a documented path to finish that specific degree, minor, or certificate — either by completing it as originally designed on a fixed timeline, or through an approved substitution plan into a closely related program with credit fully preserved. No student loses progress because a program closes after they have started it; a new student simply can no longer be admitted to it.
What a teach-out plan spells out
Accreditors require the plan to name exactly which courses will still run and on what schedule, who advises teach-out students, and a firm end date by which every affected student will have graduated or transitioned. The plan is filed with the Higher Learning Commission before the discontinuation is announced publicly, not after.
If a program you are in is discontinued
Currently enrolled students receive individual written notice and a mandatory advising meeting to walk through the specific teach-out timeline for their catalog year; nothing changes for the current semester’s registration.