MSU Mankato suspends programs, certificate offerings and considers tuition increase

Starting next fall, Minnesota State University, Mankato will eliminate 86 programs and certificates from its academic course offerings. It’s also considering an 8 percent tuition increase.

The university started reviewing its academic program portfolio last summer. The school said it periodically reviews its portfolio to align with student demand and to project future economic needs.

Its current offerings consist of more than 300 degree programs and certificates. The university’s new academic program portfolio will have 216 programs and certificates, including 12 new offerings. 

Some degree programs and certificates will merge with others and create interdisciplinary opportunities. Others with low student enrollment will be suspended. There will also be opportunities to enroll in new course offerings.

Students enrolled in suspended programs will be able to finish through teach-out plans. Some faculty may be affected, but Inch said he hopes to avoid layoffs.

“Our hope is that either by redeploying them into parallel programs and through the teach-out process, and then through the natural sequence of retiring that this will not adversely affect too many, if any,” MSU Mankato President Edward Inch said. “The more important part is the ongoing hiring strategy, though, will be to those areas where we're trying to build capacity.” 

As part of the portfolio review, the university held a series of meetings with students and community members. Inch acknowledged “not everybody’s happy with it.”

“But in terms of the long-term sustainability, what the university is going to be able to do and meet the demands that our state’s going to have for workforce, the demands our students have, we think this is the best alignment possible,” he said. “Preserving those elements of the curriculum that are most important to the university for identity and the role that we play in this region.”

MSU Mankato is facing a tight budget next year. Inch said he still doesn’t know what the state Legislature will pass for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, but suspects “it’s going to be close to where [Gov. Tim Walz’s] budget was,” which would be a reduction. 

The university is also proposing an 8 percent tuition increase. MSU Mankato has had a tuition freeze for the last four years. The Minnesota State Board of Trustees will review tuition rates in June. 

“While this work is challenging, our commitment to our students remains unwavering,” Inch said. “We will provide them with a strong, well-rounded and comprehensive educational experience that reflects their priorities and aligns with the future community and economic needs of our region and state.”

MSU Mankato Portfolio Review

The school said the review process isn’t new. Periodically, MSU Mankato reviews its portfolio, with the last review completed in 2022. 

Inch said the university used this process for several years — also known as strategic budget planning. A series of town halls and college discussions were held and the review process included recommendations from constituents and multiple listening sessions. 

The review’s results, Inch said, indicated there was an “imbalance of where resources were going,” and that there were program duplicates. 

“Twenty percent of our programs were accommodating 80 percent of our students,” Inch said. “They were overcrowded, and they didn’t have enough capacity. So this process was an attempt to realign and be able to shift some resources to where they need to be as well as identifying some cost savings.”

This realignment means eliminating 86 programs and certificates, affecting about 1.6 percent of current students enrolled in degree programs, and 0.8 percent of students in certificate programs.

“We are committed to ensuring that all students currently affected by these suspensions will have an opportunity to finish their programs here,” he said. “Working together, we will review and map out the pathway to completion for each of those students.”

A list of affected programs and certificates is available on MSU Mankato’s website.

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