Map Tracks Coverage of Program Closures

The past three issues of Academe have focused on the impact of the financial crisis facing higher education—on organizing efforts, on the humanities, and on state support for public universities. As articles in the current issue make clear, reductions in state support are forcing public colleges and universities, in particular, to raise tuition and fees. A small but growing number of institutions are also acting on financial grounds to eliminate undergraduate majors, graduate programs, or even entire academic departments.

In an effort to document this troubling trend, Academe has created an interactive map that tracks media coverage of program closures that have occurred or been proposed since the current financial crisis began in 2008. The map, although not comprehensive, provides an overview of local and national reporting on program closures across the country. View the map online at http://www.aaup.org/program-closures