USU discontinuing 2 business degrees

LOGAN (AP) — Utah State University is cutting the school's business information technology education and marketing education degrees.

The bachelor's and master's programs were offered to students who wanted to teach business in high schools.

The program had steadily lost students, who instead focused on skills they could use in industry jobs, said Provost Ray Coward.

As a result, business faculty asked to discontinue the programs in December 2005. By September 2006, the degrees were closed to new students.

About 12 students remained in the programs at the time. Classes were kept in place to allow them to finish their education. The last of the group will graduate next year.

Most of the faculty who specialized in business education retired or transferred to other schools, Coward said.

The request to eliminate the degrees was approved unanimously by the school's board of trustees Friday. The state Board of Regents will likely vote to cut the program in January.

Coward said the decision to stop offering the degrees was difficult.

"It's an intense process (to end a degree)," he said. "I do feel that a healthy university is constantly evaluating its needs and adding and subtracting programs."

USU's College of Education was offered a chance to take on the

degrees, but it declined, Coward said.

College of Business Senior Associate Dean Clifford Skousen said that wrapping up the programs is the right move.

"We've seen dramatic increases in the MIS (management information systems) area away from business education," he said.

Southern Utah University, Utah Valley State College and Weber State University still offer degrees in business education.