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Following efficiency reviews, LaGrange College is removing majors and minors that have shown little interest from students, according to an email President Susanna Baxter sent to faculty last week.

Last week, the college’s board of trustees approved a series of recommendations based on the efficiency reviews, which included removing majors and minors that have shown very little demand from students. 

Baxter said the removal of these particular majors and minors “will have a minimal impact upon our student population” and noted that any students currently in a major program will be able to complete it. The college has not publicly released the majors and minors it will no longer offer. 

Baxter noted there will be consequences for staffing, and that the college is in the process of developing a new strategic plan. 

“Know that this is a process that will take some time,” Baxter wrote in an email shared with The LaGrange Daily News. “No faculty positions will be affected until the 2022-23 academic year. Also, know that the board approved at its meeting a voluntary departure incentive program to help with this transition.”

Additional board decisions included discontinuing the swimming and women’s lacrosse athletic programs, which Baxter said had not attracted great student interest, as well as realigning some staff areas, all with the aim to better serve our students.

Dean Hartman, director of communications and marketing at LaGrange College, said the women’s lacrosse program had already been suspended. The swimming program was operating under an interim coach. LaGrange College is a Division III program, so it does not have athletic scholarships. 

LaGrange College has about 900 students and 150 faculty and staff members, Hartman said. 

“While change can be difficult, I am assured by the thoughtful, collaborative and careful process that has brought us to this point,” Baxter wrote. “I am also confident that we will emerge as a stronger institution, ready to flourish in the days ahead. We also will be prepared to begin work on a new strategic plan, to be completed by April 2022, that will propel us forward and help us become an even more student-centered institution.”