Recent federal and state laws are pressuring colleges to become less expensive by slashing underperforming humanities programs.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Trump signed Friday includes an accountability provision ending federal student loans for degree programs whose alumni don’t earn more than the average high school graduate.
It comes as the Indiana Commission of Higher Education has announced plans to eliminate or consolidate 400 programs, or one-fifth of degrees, to comply with a law setting minimum numbers of graduates. Targeted degrees include social work, fine arts, religious studies, Africana studies and gender studies.
“They have to find efficiencies where they can and make cuts,” said Tom Harnisch, vice president for government relations at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, which represents state agencies overseeing public colleges.
Hundreds of colleges have closed, merged or purged liberal arts degrees in recent years to offset declining revenue, rising costs and low enrollment. At the same time,