Oklahoma Christian University’s business department will experience a loss in the coming semesters. Due to low enrollment, the university will cut its international business program, according to an announcement made at an SGA meeting last month.
The students currently enrolled in the program will be taught out before it is cut in the coming years, according to Jeffery Simmons, the dean of the business college.
“At OC each year, we complete an evaluation of all academic departments as part of what we call the Program Review Process,” Simmons said. “This is an in-depth analysis that considers key performance metrics, such as enrollment in a major, graduation rate and retention rate, among many other factors. In recent years, we have seen many of these metrics decline for the international business program. In just three years, we went from approximately 35 students majoring in international business to 17, and extenuating circumstances suggest this downward trend will continue.”
Simmons said although this decision was difficult, he believes this is the most positive and responsible move for the campus given the low enrollment numbers.
“Personally, I have a heart for the international business major because that is my background,” Simmons said. “My master’s is in international business, and I once worked for the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce. I helped Dr. Drew start the program. However, God calls us to be good stewards of the resources he has blessed us with and, as dean, I have a duty to make sure the [College of Business Administration] offers our students the best possible education with those resources. At times, this means we have to make decisions to no longer invest in some programs so we can invest in others.”
Although this may appear negative for the business department, the impact will not be overly taxing, Simmons said.
“The affect it has on the CBA is somewhat negligible,” Simmons said. “We have very few students in the major, and the faculty member that taught many of the courses and advised the majors is Dr. Don Drew. We are blessed to have Dr. Drew because of his extensive background in management as well as international studies. Making this change in conjunction with the retirement of Dr. Phil Lewis, a management professor, will allow Dr. Drew to shift his focus from the international business program to the management major.”
According to Simmons, it is important to recognize the recent international relations issues of the United States to fully understand the context of the issue, since many of the international business majors were Oklahoma Christian’s international students. According to Forbes, international enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities decreased 4 percent between 2016 and 2017.
“Currently, the political situation in the United States has created an environment that is not too encouraging for foreign students, to say the least,” Simmons said. “It has become very difficult for students to obtain Visas to study in the U.S., and many foreign students are nervous about coming to the States to continue their education since they don’t feel as welcome as they have in the past and worry about being able to obtain and maintain their visa status.”
Simmons said although this decision had to be made for the time being in favor of resource reallocation, if there is an increase in interest for the program, it can be brought back in the future.
0
0
Be First to Comment