Indiana Wesleyan University has announced a restructure of some of its academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences on the Marion Campus in Marion, Indiana, located approximately 60 miles north of Indianapolis. The changes position IWU to better serve students in areas of increasing need and to reimagine or discontinue some existing programs.
Graduate degree programs will be expanded to meet increased demand for masters prepared individuals in a variety of fields. Dr. Stacy Hammons, Provost, states, “We’ve created 3+2 and other attractive graduate programs in response to evolving student interests and opportunities.” New options will include a residential Master of Social Work, an online Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, and an additional emphasis on Expressive Arts Therapy in the current Community and Mental Health Graduate programs.
For undergraduate students, IWU is considering undergraduate programs in engineering and cybersecurity as well as a new program that combines media and journalism.
Additionally, some existing programs will be modified and/or eliminated due to changing enrollment trends. Programs being eliminated include: Physical Health Education, Church Music, and Adolescent Ministries. For students currently enrolled in these majors, the university will provide a pathway for completion. These changes will result in the elimination of nine faculty positions.
IWU-Marion Chancellor, Dr. Rod Reed, stated, “Making these decisions is difficult because of the love and concern we feel for each one whose position is being eliminated. They have been faithful, committed faculty members, and we are committed to supporting them as they pursue their next position.”
As an additional part of the restructure, the IWU-Marion Campus will be eliminating the WIWU TV station and the Fortress radio station in order to focus on the growing audience accessing IWU media through online streaming. IWU will continue to stream university sporting events and community-based programming online and in cooperation with ESPN. Dr. David Wright, IWU President, explains, “We want to leverage the skills of our brilliant production staff to help meet the need of student learning and content delivery in emerging and innovative ways.”
Dr. David Wright also added, “The most effective organizations are those that prepare ahead for future challenges in order to continue to thrive. We are working hard to be proactive in addressing the changing needs of our students. I fully support these creative and wise changes that better equip us for the future.”