Iowa State Universities Pursue Program Closures After November Review

Provosts outline plans to consolidate low-enrollment academic offerings

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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Each of Iowa's public universities is working to close and consolidate academic programs after a review identified degrees with low enrollment. Provosts from the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University presented plans to the Iowa Board of Regents to review and change their low-enrollment programs where necessary, with some programs already slated for closure set to come to the board for approval as soon as its next meeting in April.

Why it matters

The review, mandated by the former Board of Regents president, found that 75% of students completing degrees in state university majors would be earning more than a non-degree holder in the same job within three years. The recommendations included expanding data for public use, creating a framework to measure program vitality, and finding opportunities to alter or close programs to generate administrative efficiencies, improve academic alignments, and enhance workforce preparation.

The details

The University of Iowa plans to propose six undergraduate majors and one graduate major for elimination in April, including African American studies, applied physics, classical languages, Italian, Russian, and gender, women's and sexuality studies. Iowa State University has already identified up to 10 programs that faculty have recommended for closure, while the University of Northern Iowa is developing a new process to allow programs to make their own decisions on enrollment growth, reorganization or closure.

  • The review was originally presented to the Iowa Board of Regents at its November 2025 meeting.
  • The University of Iowa plans to propose program closures for approval at the Board's April 2026 meeting.
  • Iowa State University faculty have a February 27, 2026 deadline to submit reports on their undergraduate and graduate programs.
  • The University of Northern Iowa hopes to finalize its new program review process by the end of March 2026.

The players

Rachel Boon

Chief Academic Officer for the Iowa Board of Regents.

Kevin Kregel

Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Iowa.

Jason Keith

Provost at Iowa State University.

José Herrera

Provost at the University of Northern Iowa.

Kurt Tjaden

Chair of the Iowa Board of Regents' Investment and Finance Committee.

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What they’re saying

“There were nine recommendations, if you'll recall, in that report that we gave in November. There is progress happening on almost all of those right now, in different ways, some of that through a collaboration with the board office, some of that is on their campuses specifically.”

— Rachel Boon, Chief Academic Officer (iowacapitaldispatch.com)

“As we've gone through this process, we've made sure we're looking strategically at how we are going about this, looking at the resources that are being utilized, where the workforce alignment efforts are going to be falling, and how we are going to align with student interests.”

— Kevin Kregel, Executive Vice President and Provost (iowacapitaldispatch.com)

“There's a lot of detail behind this, of course, and we'll make that available as needed, but we're still now trying to put a bow on the process. We hope that that bow will happen by the end of, maybe, this next month in March.”

— José Herrera, Provost (iowacapitaldispatch.com)

“I'm really optimistic about where we are and where we're headed and what's possible, and we will continue to update the board on our progress each quarter.”

— Kurt Tjaden, Chair, Investment and Finance Committee (iowacapitaldispatch.com)

What’s next

The Iowa Board of Regents is expected to consider the proposed program closures from the University of Iowa at its April 2026 meeting.

The takeaway

Iowa's public universities are taking a strategic and collaborative approach to consolidating low-enrollment academic programs, aiming to improve administrative efficiencies, academic alignments, and workforce preparation - while also ensuring important areas of study are preserved despite declining enrollment.