While it’s somewhat understandable that MSU’s Academic Council cut the university’s visual impairment education program on Tuesday, its reasoning was not well explained. And that is disappointing.
It’s a sad situation for all who stand to lose from the cut. This program may not be big, but it is extremely valuable.
According to the council’s curriculum committee, there is not enough demand or tenured faculty to maintain the program’s costs. But university officials did not say how much money the school will be able to save with the program’s deletion.
It seems it would have been wiser for university leaders to figure out how much MSU could save on the program’s cut before going ahead with its elimination.
MSU’s visual impairment education program was one of only two in the state - the other, and now only, undergraduate program is at Eastern Michigan University.
The 25 students currently enrolled in MSU’s program will be allowed to finish.
Among all 50 states, there are only 24 colleges with visual impairment programs.
Fortunately, for students in Michigan hoping to pursue careers in visual impairment education, they won’t have to travel far for another higher education opportunity.
But it is understandable why those who wished to enroll in MSU’s program would prefer it to Eastern Michigan’s. MSU has one of the most renowned education programs in the country.
Despite the burdensome nature of providing specialized programs with low enrollment numbers, it is MSU’s duty as a land-grant institution to provide as much of an education opportunity as possible to the people of Michigan.
Even if the visual impairment program only was graduating five students per year, that is five new teachers who can benefit students who are visually impaired. The entire state profits from that.
Economic times are tough and budgets are tight. We understand the need to cut costs. But university officials don’t even know if this move will help much.
And institutions such as MSU should be very wary of putting a price on the future of education.
Now that the decision has been made to cut MSU’s program, we must look to the future. Perhaps, a better education opportunity can be born from this seemingly unfortunate decision.
We urge university officials to begin considering developing a partnership with Eastern Michigan’s program.
A partnership could lead Michigan to play host to one of the most advanced and renowned visual impairment education programs in the nation - or the world.
It is MSU’s responsibility to move ahead along any viable route to provide a plethora of affordable and beneficial education opportunities. We hope the school won’t just accept the loss of such an important program.
Tuesday was a sad day for the university. MSU leaders desperately need to turn this frown upside down and make a bad situation right again.
