Another article, with a fair bit of details:
Sounds like mainly dropping adjuncts and PT faculty over 2 years..
That’s a shame. Clark is – or, at least, used to be – renowned for its psychology program.
Clark graduated a notable 100 psychology majors in a recent year, which should provide this program with inherent protection.
Synopsis from what I’ve read
- Clark’s freshman class is underenrolled by about 20%
- Because of uncertainty around immigration, there’s a lot of uncertainty about what grad school enrollment will look like, as international students make up 82% of its grad programs (9th highest in U.S.)
- 5% reduction in staff this year; 25-30% reduction in faculty over 2 years
- Faculty reductions are coming from pre-tenure, non-tenure-track, and adjuncts
- And…
Over the next few years, Clark will divide its degree tracks into three different schools:
The School of Climate, Environment, and Society will house its departments of sustainability and social justice; biology; and economics; the School of Geography; Center for Geospatial Analytics; and the George Perkins Marsh Institute.
Its second, yet-to-be-named school will house Clark’s departments of visual and performing arts; and computer science; Center for Media Arts, Computing, and Design/Becker School of Design & Technology, and the interactive media program.
Its third, yet-to-be-named school will house Clark’s departments of psychology; education; and biology.
I’m not seeing English or history or foreign languages…unless they’re falling in the “Society” bucket of the School of Climate, Environment, and Society. Right now, I just feel like 
I think it still is pretty known for it - and GIS/Geography and now Gaming since they took over Becker.
I think they are harmed by their goldilocks (IMO) size of having university stuff, in a SLAC size…and I also saw Union (which sort of fits in that middle size to me too) is underenrolled by a fair bit too..
Clark’s low yield of 14% was noted (and seemingly ignored by most) in this topic from a few months ago: Help me compare options: Clark, Dickinson, Skidmore, Connecticut. Such a statistic can suggest a greater likelihood of future enrollment challenges.
Although this news isn’t welcome, it doesn’t seem all that dire, at least right now. For example, Clark is not ending any other majors at this point, beyond the three it announced in April. https://www.wbjournal.com/article/clark-university-to-shutter-three-degree-programs-amid-existential-challenges
And one of the articles above says the student faculty ratio will go from “7/8:1 to 10:1” after the elimination of faculty/adjuncts/instructors. That doesn’t seem overly concerning, and quite possibly is the right decision to cut these positions. I get part of what is driving the ratio is a light incoming class but there is no reason Clark needs a 7/8:1 ratio. IMO thats just too expensive even if they did meet their enrollment goal.
I feel it’s critical to keep these facts in perspective because once a school makes an announcement like this and/or misses enrollment target for a class, it can result in fewer apps and/or an even lower yield, resulting in a downward spiral. It does seem the over reliance on international grad students could put further pressure on their finances.
I would still not hesitate to recommend Clark for many undergrad students. I also hope Clark continues to meet full need for students who apply and are accepted in ED1 and 2. If I were on their marketing team I would definitely be highlighting that with the hope of attracting more students who really want to be there and at the same time increasing yield.
agree
This seems like good financial management , especially in face of present political uncertainty and how many international students they have.
I don’t see this being a dire impact to current students experience.
From the link posted by @Mwfan1921
Throughout the next two to three years, Clark will sunset majors and minors in its Francophone studies, ancient civilization, and comparative literature. The university will redesign its studio arts major.
Students enrolled in the degree tracks will be able to finish the programs, but new students will not be able to enroll for the majors and minors. The courses have already been removed from the university’s 2025-2026 academic calendar, according to a statement from Clark emailed to WBJ.
The school’s language, literature, and culture department, which houses the Francophone studies, ancient civilization, and comparative literature programs, is working on a new proposed major to include some content from the current programs.
I’m very upset about this news. My daughter ws looking for a classic liberal arts education. She is undecided in her major, and could have easily majored in art, languages, or English literature. It seems like they’re going to cut/reorganize a substantial number of depts. If I had known this, I never would have given them my deposit 5 weeks ago. And we wouldn’t even have looked at Clark in the first place.
Besides the elimination of the three majors which happened in April, what have you seen that suggests a substantial number of departments will be cut?
Did she have other acceptances she was excited about? I’ll bet Clark will be forgiving about sending back her deposit, and she may find the other schools accommodating under the circumstances…
What other schools was she considering?
To me, it looks re-organizing, but not cutting departments (beyond the few they did in April)
I understand your frustration, but it is my understanding that Clark still offers a very rich liberal arts education. Also, for English literature, the English department is not going away. Besides continuing with “classic” liberal arts, I believe that the new organization — with opportunities for interdisciplinary and community-based engagement — will enrich the liberal arts education. Plus, Clark has a 4+1 (do your undergrad with a good GPA, and you get to stay one for a Masters with minor costs). That is what appealed to me.