Boards to vote on APP Friday

Record snowfall isn’t the only historic thing happening in Minnesota this week.

On Friday, the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University Boards of Trustees are set to finalize decisions around the reduction, closure or revision of several majors and minors–virtually, because of the snow. The vote signals the official finale of the Academic Program Prioritization (APP) process and will alter the status of approximately 17 academic programs. Board members are guided by three sources: the provost’s recommendations, the president’s recommendations and the Joint Faculty Senate’s (JFS) recommendations. As reported in the Sept. 29 edition of The Record, the following programs are expected to be affected, to varying degrees: Asian studies, classics (including the Greek and Latin minors), ancient Mediterranean studies, peace studies, philosophy, theater, chemistry, education, gender studies, music, nutrition, physics, Chinese, French studies, German studies, Japanese and Latino/Latin American studies. Earlier this month, the JFS requested that President Brian Bruess release his recommendations to the faculty ahead of this Thursday’s vote. Bruess declined, responding that he wants to ensure the integrity of the Boards’ deliberation and that putting his recommendations in the public domain would diminish the process accorded to the Boards, per a recent email to JFS members.

Bruess’s decision is a rare show of public disagreement between the JFS and CSB+SJU administration, although negative emotions have been bubbling below the surface since the start of the process, particularly from the faculty side, who are staring down faculty reductions and an incentivized retirement plan that has been deemed “inadequate” by the Faculty Benefits and Compensation Committee. Another thing that has become apparent is just how much students don’t know about the APP process and how these landmark decisions will impact the CSB and SJU experience.

“Honestly, I haven’t really heard anything. I figured we’d get an email at some point, especially considering how big this seems to be,” CSB junior Emily Tjaden said.

In particular, students from the potentially affected programs are seeking answers about how permanent this process is for majors and minors that are getting cut and what the process indicates for CSB and SJU into the future.

“I feel that we could do with some more transparency,” sophomore peace studies major Ethan Riddle said in an interview for a previous APP article. “I would like to know what the future is going to look like, because I feel like it kind of betrays the liberal arts values if you focus down on one or two areas of study.”

So, ahead of the Boards of Trustees vote, The Record has collected common student questions and provided the answers, pulling from the APP Final Report and several interviews with administrators and faculty from the past year.

**Who initiated the APP process?**

Academic Program Prioritization, also known as APP, is a process initiated by Provost Richard Ice on Aug. 4, 2021. The provost, also known as the chief academic officer, is responsible for overseeing all academic programs by developing and implementing academic priorities and goals.

**What are the reasons for the APP process?**

The APP Final Report identifies that “over the last decade (2012-2022) average undergraduate full time student enrollment has fallen by 22% across both institutions,” and that “the decline has been much steeper at CSB (25.5%) than at SJU (18%).” This changing composition of the student body, combined with a faculty population that now does not align to the colleges targeted student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1, necessitates changes to both faculty numbers and academic program offerings. “Rightsizing the faculty,” as the provost has said many times in interviews throughout the past year, means reducing the number of faculty through the newly released incentivized retirement plan and cuts. Additionally, as an APP document spells out, CSB and SJU are tuition-driven institutions and “these enrollment shifts have profound impacts on operating revenues” for both colleges.

**What are the goals of the APP process?**

Ice charged the process with identifying “strategic balance with an appropriate level of programming that meets the following goals: (1) Positions CSB+SJU to be leaders in liberal arts education by providing students with education opportunities to meet our key general education learning outcomes and institutional learning goals, (2) Makes CSB+SJU forward-thinking and supportive of the ongoing needs of our students into the future, (3) Keeps CSB+SJU competitive in the future higher education marketplace, (4) Allows for institutional financial sustainability within academic affairs but also nimbleness and flexibility, (5) Maintains a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio, (6) Develops an institutional structure that encourages academic program innovation and creativity that builds on our strengths, (7) Focuses on our priorities and strengths, and not trying to be everything to everyone.”

**How does the APP process work?**

Ice divided up APP process responsibilities between two faculty committees: the Data Committee and the Steering Committee. The Data Committee was tasked with collecting, analyzing, interpreting and synthesizing data, which the Steering Committee then used to create a set of recommendations that align with the goals described above. The two committees began working in August of 2021 and issued their “Academic Program Prioritization Final Report” on June 30, 2022. The report, which is 38 pages long, details CSB+SJU enrollment trends, the APP process, each committee’s responsibilities and the Steering Committee’s recommendations for every academic program at CSB+SJU. The provost, the president and the JFS have all used the Academic Program Prioritization Final Report as the basis for their recommendations, which the board considers before the final vote.

**If my major or minor is affected, will it change my experience?** The short answer is no—all current students will be able to major or minor in the academic programs that are currently available, regardless of any decisions made on Friday. However, that isn’t to say that your experience won’t be altered. Majors and minors that are reduced, closed or revised can expect to face a loss of faculty, either through retirements or cuts, and that will hinder the academic program’s ability to offer the typical number of classes. If you are currently majoring or minoring in one of the potentially affected programs, it may be worth it to have a conversation with your academic advisor about how the final decision will affect your four-year plan and future academic experience at CSB+SJU.

**Why haven’t students heard more about this?**

In an interview earlier this year, Ice explained that because no official decision has been made, making an announcement would only serve to potentially confuse students or those outside of the colleges.

“I haven’t been trying to hide anything, it’s just as I’ve been working with departments, I need them to have the opportunity to work with me. That’s why we did not publicly release the [APP Final Report], because I thought, ‘look, if an outside newspaper gets ahold of this and starts reporting on things that we’re still figuring out if that’s the right thing to do, I don’t want them to jump to a conclusion that that’s what we’re doing,” Ice said.