SU's financial stress

[OCESIP]

Eliminating 93 programs and 175 positions seems like there's a definite message that the administration is sending. Identifying the new $$ pressure to fund athletes as a contributing factor cannot bode well for the athletic program going forward.
They have said that the administration will continue to be a player and come up with the funds, but obviously not without some pain and anguish.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Probably a better allocation of resources to programs that are more popular. As much as I think there is a benefit to a liberal arts degree and major in philosophy, they don’t do much to prepare you for the job market. Im not an expert but I believe the $20mm to pay players comes out of the athletic budget which is self sustaining and not the general fund but I could be wrong

 

[upperdeck]

imagine if players get paid and 50% of the schools stopped funding sports.

 

[JRHEETER]

welcome to the new age of Higher Ed.

Pretty much every single higher ed is cutting programs and staff....

 

[cusefan88]

It's pretty targeted FYI but obviously disappointing to see.

"Provost Lois Agnew announced the retirement plan in an email on Friday. The 175 eligible faculty members include anyone who has worked at SU for at least 35 years or anyone whose primary appointment is within an undergraduate program that is slated to close or has low enrollment."

 

[rrlbees]

Eliminating 93 programs and 175 positions seems like there's a definite message that the administration is sending. Identifying the new $$ pressure to fund athletes as a contributing factor cannot bode well for the athletic program going forward.
They have said that the administration will continue to be a player and come up with the funds, but obviously not without some pain and anguish.

a lot of those programs only have 1-2 students majoring in them.

 

[NKR1978]

It's likely doing a favor to those students. Unless you're amongst the top programs in the country for a niche field of study, there are probably very few marketable positions available related to that major. No one should go to a school as expensive as SU and graduate with the debt you'll incur with a limited possibility for future gainful employment.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Pruning those programs makes perfect sense.

 

[Oakland]

AI unemployment here we come. Enrollment in my son's undergraduate degree program in video and sound engineering is down 50% because kids see that AI is reducing employment in that area.

 

[ImperialOrange]

welcome to the new age of Higher Ed.

Pretty much every single higher ed is cutting programs and staff...

It's a market correction that has been desperately needed. Many programs have long since out priced ROI for their services. If folks could bankrupt out of student loans many programs would have never existed to begin with and tuition wouldn't have had the astronomical rise that it has.

 

[NKR1978]

It's a market correction that has been desperately needed. Many programs have long since out priced ROI for their services. If folks could bankrupt out of student loans many programs would have never existed to begin with and tuition wouldn't have had the astronomical rise that it has.

There's no reason why there can't be eclectic electives, but no one should go to Syracuse to be German major. It's pointless.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

https://www.syracuse.com/syracuse-university/2026/04/syracuse-university-to-cut-93-low-enrollment-degree-programs.html

Syracuse University plans to cut nearly 100 programs, more than half of which had zero students enrolled.

SU announced Wednesday it will “sunset” a total of 93 programs across all colleges, Provost Lois Agnew stated in a university-wide announcement. This includes undergraduate majors, master’s degrees and specialized post-graduate certifications.

Of the 93 programs, 55 had no students enrolled, Agnew said. An additional 28 are advanced certifications.

The cuts will affect 258 enrolled students, which is 1.2% of the student body. SU has 21,500 students enrolled.

 

[MSOrange]

AI unemployment here we come. Enrollment in my son's undergraduate degree program in video and sound engineering is down 50% because kids see that AI is reducing employment in that area.

AI is definitely kind of scary. I'm glad I'm near 50 and just hope I can squeeze 10 more years before retirement. If I was college age now, I'd probably be looking at trade school and hoping for the best.

 

[Cusefan95]

AI is definitely kinda of scary. I'm glad I'm near 50 and just hope I can squeeze 10 more years before retirement. If I was college age now, I'd probably be looking at trade school and hoping for the best.

I had a professor in business school almost 30 years ago that predicted the US would collapse as a viable nation-state in 2033. The closer we get to that, the more confident I’m getting that he’s going to be pretty close. I’m hoping he’s off by 10-20 years so I can get through dying of natural causes before it all goes to crap.

 

[upperdeck]

AI can do a bunch of stuff.. But at what cost. It does an avg job of coding some things, but it cant do that last mile stuff and some places that have cut staff to use AI are finding they have no staff to do the real stuff that needs to get done. And when AI drives costs for energy even higher what then? When do these places start to charge more for those heavy hitters like should so the avg person can afford to sit in their houses with the lights on. what happens when all the companies using AI found out thier secrets are being given to an AI company?

 

[JKinUtah]

 

[PAcuse]

Sounds like this is what ALOT of other schools did a few years back.
Needed to happe.

 

[JoeCollege]

View attachment 262274

I will not be convinced of the superiority of technology until this movie is widely available on major streaming platforms. Until then, everything is just potential.

 

[NKR1978]

AI is definitely kind of scary. I'm glad I'm near 50 and just hope I can squeeze 10 more years before retirement. If I was college age now, I'd probably be looking at trade school and hoping for the best.

Those of us in our late 40s/early 50s really hit the lottery with respect to when we were born in that we seem ready to check out right when things are going to get really dystopian.

 

[ImperialOrange]

There's no reason why there can't be eclectic electives, but no one should go to Syracuse to be German major. It's pointless.

I'm all for folks pursuing what brings them joy but going 200k into irreversible debt doesn't seem to make too many folks joyful.

Most ecclective electives would be better served being pursued outside of the US secondary education system. Maybe go be a German Major at a German University? Feel like the experience will be more fulfilling although quick glance shows German Universities focus on STEM studies... shocking efficiency from them. lol

 

[grepal]

Probably a better allocation of resources to programs that are more popular. As much as I think there is a benefit to a liberal arts degree and major in philosophy, they don’t do much to prepare you for the job market. Im not an expert but I believe the $20mm to pay players comes out of the athletic budget which is self sustaining and not the general fund but I could be wrong

An all in four year degree at SU runs 350 to 400 k. For that money you better be prepared for a great career, marry really well or be a trust fund baby. I agree that some fluff prepares a well rounded person but one better be employable in a high potential field.

 

[dollarbill44]

a lot of those programs only have 1-2 students majoring in them.

And several of those programs have none.

 

[OrangeFreek]

Eliminating 93 programs and 175 positions seems like there's a definite message that the administration is sending. Identifying the new $$ pressure to fund athletes as a contributing factor cannot bode well for the athletic program going forward.
They have said that the administration will continue to be a player and come up with the funds, but obviously not without some pain and anguish.

eliminating 93 programs that had little to No students in that major was one of the smartest things the university could do. It had nothing to do with sports! Paying 175 paychecks along with retirement and medical benefits with little to no student linked to these programs is insane.

 

[upperdeck]

Thats like a 20 million savings for jobs that were providing little to the university. Also means space allocation in some buildings that might have been needed was freed up.

 

[Millhouse]

AI is definitely kind of scary. I'm glad I'm near 50 and just hope I can squeeze 10 more years before retirement. If I was college age now, I'd probably be looking at trade school and hoping for the best.

If ai takes my job , there a good chance for so much returns on my investments that I won't need to work at that point anyway

I have no idea what to tell my kids though