Winthrop University’s board of trustees approved resolutions to establish three new academic degrees at a board meeting earlier this month. The resolutions will be submitted to the Commision of Higher Education for further approval over the next several months.
The three new degrees include a Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity, Master of Science in athletic training, and a Bachelor of Design with a concentration in experience design, graphic design, illustration and interior design.
The resolutions were presented by board member and Academic Quality Committee Chair, Janey Smalley, who began the presentation with a comment praising the university’s recent efforts towards what she called “academic master planning.”
“The departments have always done a good job of managing budget, but they’ve never really looked at programmatic issues through a budget lens, and that’s pretty much what this program is doing. They’re using data, they’re using the resources of EA, they’re grinding data on their own and with the help of one another to really take a closer look at the right data at the right time. And right now is the right time,” Smalley said.
Board discussion regarding the academic resolutions opened on the Bachelors of Science in cybersecurity. Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Adrienne McCormick, answered a question from board member, Glenn McCall, regarding the program’s niche within the region and state.
“There are other programs currently in the state, but we are keeping pace with demand by joining those other institutions that have similar programs, not necessarily the same, without losing out on our regional demand,” McCormick said.
McCall suggested an increase in the marketing and advertising for the program to improve outreach, proposing a budget increase from $2,000 to at least $10,000. He also voiced his support for the possibility of creating a bridge program with York Technical College to provide higher academic opportunities for students with associate degrees in similar technological fields, as well as improving the university’s aptitude for transferring academic credits from the technical college.
The introduction of both the Master of Science in athletic training and the Bachelor of Design would require some preexisting degrees to be cut or consolidated into the proposed programs.
“We’re eliminating the Bachelors of Science in athletic training to make way for the Master of Science in athletic training,” McCormick said. “We’ve added a new track in our Bachelor of Science in exercise science for the first three years that will then draw students into the two year MSAT. We have a real competitive edge there because we’re providing that in a five-year experience, whereas looking at other institutions that will be adding the MSAT, it will be a six-year requirement in most
instances. For the Bachelor of Design, we will be eliminating the Bachelor of Fine Arts in visual communication and interior design. It’s two programs becoming one, rather than an overall elimination,” McCormick said.
The cybersecurity and design programs are expected to be approved for the 2021-22 academic year, according to Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Timothy Drueke. The MS in athletic training degree is expected to be implemented in the summer 2023 semester as the current program prepares students for the transition from the bachelor’s degree to the master’s degree.
