Connecticut
UConn looking to address low enrollment for 70 majors
The University of Connecticut is reviewing enrollment numbers for 70 programs, causing concern for the professors who teach them.
UConn says they are not directing programs to end or end majors, but they are asking educators for ideas on how to address programs with low enrollment.
“The majority of classes I’ve taken at UConn have been 20 people or less,” UConn senior Victoria Clingan said. She’s majoring in both French and philosophy.
Clingan says she’s benefitted from the tight-knit community from the programs, both in her relationships with professors and her ability to learn the material.
“There’s a lot of marketability towards very specific majors — in particular the language majors,” said Clingan.
Both of her majors, and 68 others, are being reviewed because they have graduated 100 or fewer students in a five-year period.
The university is asking educators to provide ideas to improve those numbers.
Low enrollment isn’t just found in humanities majors. Other programs being reviewed include some math and sciences, like structural biology and environmental studies. Social work, languages, and other majors are also being reviewed.
“We just have a sense that something very bad is coming down when you have 70 programs suddenly have to justify their existence or be terminated. We’ve never seen that before,” said Christopher Vials, the president of the UConn chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
Vials says the concern is that the potential of cuts would be a permanent solution to what he says is a temporary budget shortfall at the university.
“A lot of these programs, not only are their classes filled with students, but a lot of them are recruiting tools for faculty who do research and cutting-edge interdisciplinary fields,” said Vials.
Data NBC Connecticut obtained shows the program with the highest number of graduates in a five-year period on average is Health Care Management, with 19 students.
Other programs on the list, like Turfgrass and Soil Science, have had no graduates on average in a five-year period.
UConn says reviewing enrollment is not targeting a particular field, and the programs were selected for review based on numbers.
“These reviews provide an opportunity to demonstrate how the various programs can use their strengths and creativity to evolve and draw more enrollment, producing graduates with a range of interesting and satisfying career paths. They also ensure we are responsible stewards of our resources,” said UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz in a statement to NBC Connecticut.
“Like every university, UConn has a process for evaluating programs with low enrollment and completion. This is essential to ensure that we maintain the right balance of programs to support our institutional mission, meet the needs of our students, and make the best use of resources,” Reitz said.
The review of these courses is due on November 1. Documents from UConn’s Administration obtained by NBC Connecticut indicate that more decisions will be reported at UConn’s Board of Trustees meeting in December.
Vials says the Association of American University Professors will be pushing back until then.
Here is the list of majors under examination for low enrollment:
- Animal Science
- Ornamental Horticulture & Turfgrass Management
- Urban Forestry Arboriculture
- Agriculture & Natural Resources
- Environmental Sciences
- Environmental Studies
- Individualized Major – Agriculture
- Diagnostic Genetic Sciences
- Dietetics
- Medical Laboratory Sciences
- Athletic Training
- Horticulture
- Landscape Architecture
- Ornamental Horticulture
- Sustainable Plant and Soil Systems
- Turfgrass and Soil Science
- Health Care Management
- Real Estate/Urban Economics
- Agricultural Education
- Biology Education
- Chemistry Education
- Earth Science Education
- English Education
- French Education
- General Science Education
- German Language Education
- History Education
- Mandarin Chinese Language Education
- Mathematics Education
- Music Education
- Physics Education
- Spanish Language Education
- Special Education
- Computer Engineering
- Engineering Physics
- Art
- Art History
- Acting
- Design/Technical Theater
- Puppetry
- Theater Studies
- Music
- Music Education in Fine Arts
- African/Africana Studies
- American Studies
- Geoscience
- Engineering Physics
- Environmental Sciences
- Environmental Studies
- Geographic Information Science
- Geography
- Latino and Latin American Studies
- Linguistics/Psychology
- Linguistics/Philosophy
- American Sign Language Studies
- Arabic and Islamic Civ
- Chinese
- Classics/Ancient Medieval Studies
- French
- German
- Italian Literary & Cultural Studies
- Judaic Studies
- Marine Sciences
- Maritime Studies
- Math/Actuarial Science/Finance
- Mathematics/Physics
- Structural Biology/Biophysics
- Philosophy
- Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies
- Social Work
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State senators to introduce bill banning facial recognition technology in Connecticut retail stores
State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, along with fellow Sen. James Maroney, say they will be introducing a bill to ban the use of facial recognition software in Connecticut retail stores next month, when the 2026 legislative session begins.
While both Stop & Shop and Stew Leonard’s tell News 12 they do not use the technology, the ShopRite on Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk does, with a sign next to the entrance.
“I don’t like it, it’s invading my privacy,” said Agapi Theodoridou, a shopper there, “I don’t trust them.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for ShopRite’s parent company notes that security cameras have been used for years in retail stores, and “today, advances in technology — including biometrics — allow retailers to better identify organized retail crime and repeat offenders in stores, helping security respond more quickly and effectively to threats.”
“I understand sometimes their need for it and whatever, as long as its not used improperly,” said Gene Cronin, another ShopRite customer.
Meanwhile, Wegmans tells News 12 that it uses facial recognition at some locations that have what the company calls “an elevated risk.”
But while their stores in New York City with the cameras have signs, which are required by law there, Wegmans would not answer whether or not it was also being used at the Norwalk location, with a spokesperson saying “for security and safety purposes, we do not get into the specific measures used at each store.”
“At least they should say so people have the opportunity, so people have the opportunity to react accordingly,” responded Robert Luzzi, a Wegmans shopper.
“Nobody signed up for a facial scan when they go to buy milk and eggs at the store, so we need to have disclosure,” agreed Duff. “Security is one thing, and I totally understand that, and the other issue is more of a personal privacy issue, and that’s what we’re trying to concentrate on.”
Duff says when it comes to facial recognition, there are too many unregulated issues and questions right now, explaining “We don’t know who owns the data, how long it’s being stored for, is it sold to a third party? Is that being used – this information to do dynamic pricing – I pay one price, you pay a different price?”
As far as ShopRite is concerned, the spokesperson tells News 12 that the technology is only used for security, and while the data may be shared with law enforcement if there is a crime, it is also “regularly” deleted, and never sold.
Wegmans also says that at the stores where facial recognition is used, the data is not shared with third parties.
“We’re going to have public hearings, we’re going to seek input from experts, we’re going to seek input from retailers, we’re going to seek input from customers,” said Duff. “If there’s other ways in which we can move forward together, then we’ll be talking about that, and hopefully we’ll be coming up with a workable compromise.”
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