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programmatic and departmental viability. also implemented. The faculty of the 2014). Likewise, establishing meaningful
Utilizing accurate academic performance department found new academic homes in relationships with regional business and
data, three metrics were established. the departments of biology, chemistry, and industry had been a departmental goal.
Program demand—number of students physics. These changes were projected to However, a pipeline for the employment of
new to a program; student participation— create an immediate cost savings of graduates was never achieved. With no
number of declared majors; productivity— US$200,000, followed by about US$1.1M in clear post-graduation pathway, with no col-
number of graduates. In addition, three annually recurring savings. laboration between employers and the
metric ratios were calculated: graduation department in recruiting prospective stu-
efficiency—number of students who gradu- LESSONS LEARNED dents, and without a strong alumni base,
ate divided by the number of majors; stu- While recognizing that no two sets of there was no viable mechanism to increase
dent attrition—number of students who institutional circumstances are identical, student participation in the department.
stop out divided by the number of majors; and accepting that many different factors The Department of Geosciences at
growth trend—number of students entering can lead to a department’s elevated risk of IPFW is not the first geosciences program
the program divided by the number of stu- closure, the experiences and lessons learned to be closed and almost certainly will not
dents graduating, changing to a new major, from the IPFW events are valuable exam- be the last. The department fell victim to
or stopping out. Values of each metric were ples for other departments. The Department
calculated for the five year period 2011– of Geosciences had been viewed by the an academic program prioritization pro-
2012 through 2015–2016, and on 19 Sep- administration as a small, but successful, cess in large part because it failed to con-
tember 2016 a document was issued that academic program. A concern regarding sider and implement existing strategies,
reviewed all academic programs and the number of majors was frequently con- many of which are available through
departments and included recommenda- sidered during departmental reviews but the Carleton College Science Education
tions and expectations. was overlooked because of the efficient Resource Center’s Building Strong Depart-
From the quantitative analysis, it was delivery of total credit hours. As such, the ments resources (https://serc.carleton.edu/
clear the Department of Geology’s perfor- department felt, and largely was, protected departments/index.html). The IPFW expe-
mance metrics were dismal. However, the from critical review. However, the depart- rience has shown that the most critical
department had extensively documented ment failed to recognize how an institu- characteristics of a department that is
the scholarly and engagement activities of tional shift from valuing credit hour pro- resistant under the pressures of program
both students and faculty. An initial recom- duction to student completion could create a closure are progressive and engaged de-
mendation to maintain the B.S. in geology threat. Adjustment of department priorities partment leadership coupled with a collec-
program was based on the recognition that in recognition of the significance of these tive willingness to accept and positively
those contributions would wane if the institutional changes and an understanding respond to opportunities for change. By
department was closed. Three departmental of how performance metrics were calcu- reviewing the combination of structural
goals were established: restructure the geo- lated would have been a necessary but not weaknesses and missteps described above,
sciences program through faculty replace- sufficient step in staving off closure. at-risk departments can take actions that
ment, build connections to high school stu- Due to the demographics of the depart- will reduce their vulnerability.
dents, and build connections to local ment’s faculty, a series of three retirements
industries to increase student employment were planned between 2014 and 2018. The REFERENCES CITED
placement. In addition to those recommen- opportunity existed, at the time of the first Anderson, S.W., Flood, T.P., and Munk, L., 2006,
dations, continuous monitoring of depart- retirement, to realign the composition of Bucking the trend: Three new geoscience pro-
mental metrics, development of curricular the faculty in a way that would support a grams: Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 54,
pathways to attract students to the major, transition to an applied geotechnical cur- no. 1, p. 41–49, https://doi.org/ 10.5408/ 1089-9995
and collaboration with the civil engineering riculum. Although there was no guarantee -54.1.41.
program were expected. that the department’s fate would have been Dickeson, R.C., 2010, Prioritizing Academic Pro-
grams and Services: Jossey-Bass, San Francisco,
During a meeting on 13 October 2016, the different, a curricular shift would have, at https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118269541.
trustees of Purdue University made clear least in principle, provided a path to sus- Drummond, C.N., and Markin, J.M., 2008, An
that the prioritization process was to be taining the department. Typically, if analysis of the bachelor of science in geology de-
completed more rapidly than the timetable opportunities for changes in personnel are gree as offered in the United States: Journal of
described in the September plan. This well-aligned with strategic curricular evo- Geoscience Education, v. 56, no. 2, p. 113–119,
acceleration had its origin in the impending lution (Ulanski, 1995), a department is https://doi.org/10.5408/1089-9995-56.2.113.
realignment of academic programs between demonstrating the capacity to meet the Renshaw, C.E., 2014, Design and assessment of a
skills-based geoscience curriculum: Journal of
Indiana University and Purdue University. needs of future students. Geoscience Education, v. 62, no. 4, p. 668–678,
A revised response to recommendations 2.2 The Department of Geosciences had a https://doi.org/10.5408/13-100.1.
and 2.3 was issued on 18 October 2016. short time in which to establish a client rela- Ulanski, S.L., 1995, Curriculum reform in under-
Along with the B.S. in geology, admissions tionship with civil engineering. Only by graduate geology programs: Journal of Geologi-
to degree programs in French, German, and building curricular linkages, and by popu- cal Education, v. 43, no. 1, p. 43–46, https://doi
.org/10.5408/0022-1368-43.1.43.
philosophy were also suspended. The lating upper-division courses with students
departments of geology and philosophy from outside the geology major, can at-risk Manuscript received 10 July 2019
were closed and four departmental mergers programs build safeguards against future Revised manuscript received 23 Aug. 2019
impacting eight additional programs were closure (Anderson et al., 2006; Renshaw, Manuscript accepted 17 Sept. 2019
www.geosociety.org/gsatoday 43