National interest in foreign language majors has plummeted by 30% since 2009, forcing universities across the country to eliminate these programs. UP is no exception.
On Jan. 21, after years of enrollment hiatus, the University of Portland’s Academic Senate accepted the proposal to eliminate the German major. The program will officially end once current students graduate, though the minor will remain available, according to an email from Provost David Mengel.
No other majors in the College of Arts and Sciences are at risk of discontinuation as of now, according to Mengel.
The discontinuation of any UP major requires a faculty or dean to propose a curriculum change to the Curriculum and Academic Regulations Committee (CAR), which then reviews and votes on the proposed change. The CAR's recommendations then go to the Academic Senate, which votes on any proposed changes, including the termination of any major or graduate program.
Professor of German Studies and Associate Dean for Faculty Growth and Development Alexandra Stewart, who has been part of the German department for the past 16 years, acknowledges that UP’s declining enrollment in the German major aligns with national trends.
In 2009, the peak of foreign language enrollment, UP had 25-30 graduating German majors a year, according to Stewart. Since then, the numbers have declined.
However, despite following national trends, Stewart expressed sadness about losing the UP German program and how it will impact students wishing to pursue it.
“For students who do want to do a German major, we're not an option anymore,” Stewart said. “That is sad. That's really hard to say.”
Though the program has dwindled in the last sixteen years, senior history major and German minor Reilly Smith came to appreciate the smaller, tight-knit community that it provided him.
As he reflects on its pending departure, he believes the decision will have an effect on future UP students.
“That’s something that I'm sad about, not for my own sake, but for the sake of people who are going to come after me,” Smith said.
Kaylee Monahan is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at monahan26@up.edu.
