Luther College has hired an educational consulting firm to help determine if some class offerings ought to be cut

Officers of Gray Associates, the educational consulting firm hired by Luther College

Luther College once had an enrollment of over 2,500 students.  Now the school's enrollment has fallen below the 2,000 level.  As new students arrive on campus this week, the incoming first year student class size is large, but uncertainty still remains around how many students—including students from last year—will show up on campus this fall.

That's why Luther College has hired an educational consulting firm, Gray Associates, to review the school's curriculum, working with an "Academic Prioritization Task Force" made up of professors on campus.

During this school year, Luther faculty members will meet to discuss the recommendations made by Gray Associates, which are expected to include recommendations about which class offerings should be cut.  The class cuts would allow the college to concentrate its spending on the academic majors which have the greatest popularity among students.

All current faculty members have contracts through the end of the 2020-2021 school year, but the cuts could lead to some faculty members not being offered new contracts.  

When a vote is taken by faculty members, it will be in the form of a recommendation to the Luther Board of Regents—the Regents will make the actual decision of whether cuts are needed.  If the Board of Regents does approve the plan, faculty with tenure will not be cut, but non-tenured faculty could find themselves looking for jobs.  That would happen at the same time many other small liberal arts colleges are also making faculty layoffs because of declining enrollment.