Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly ModeHealth, science majors on the rise
October 19, 2009 —
In 2005, the College of Health and Human Services had more seats in its classrooms than qualified applicants. Four years later, waiting lists are the norm for some of its programs such as nursing.
Student volume within the College of Education, meanwhile, continues to dwindle.
These enrollment trends reflect a local job market where the quantity of health-related jobs are on the rise, and teaching positions are vanishing weekly.
Health and Human Services has experienced a 76 percent growth since 2005, thanks to nursing and programs that continue to spawn job opportunities.
Along with the 47.8 percent spike in nursing during the last four years, programs such as pre-athletic training and exercise science have experienced explosive growth.
Donald Bachand, vice president for academic affairs, attributes the increasing interest in the latter programs to more employers focusing on the health of its employees.
“With more employers taking an interest in their employees’ fitness, you have more of them hiring graduates from these programs to help with that,” he said.
As recent of the College of Health and Human Services enjoy plentiful job opportunities, graduates of education are now resorting to vacating the state to secure employment.
Bachand says enrollment numbers for many programs have maintained a cyclical nature.
He recalls the statewide shortage of teachers 15 years ago and the sudden high demand for new teachers.
But with those positions filled, continual school closings and staff downsizing across the state, jobs for recent education graduates are scarce. And enrollment numbers in the program are taking a hit because of it.
Undergraduate enrollment in the College of Education this fall is 1,351, down from 1,826 in the fall of 2005.
Most affected by this 26 percent drop-off are the pre-elementary and elementary education programs.
The College of Health and Science Services isn’t the only department to enjoy ample development.
Select programs across several of the University’s departments continue to see ample student growth because of their tendency to lead quick employment post graduation.
Criminal justice, for instance, grew 28 percent this fall from last year.
As with several of the health-related programs, criminal justice opens multiple doors, says Bachand.
“It’s not just local law enforcement,” he said. “The government’s a big employer throughout the country with things like homeland security.”
Growth in these programs has started a trickle-down effect evident around campus.
The boom in nursing has necessitated additional nursing professors.
But the multiple science requirements that come with the program also means hiring more science professors.
“I’ve got to hire five others to get two new nursing professors,” Bachand said. “Pretty soon you’re building a new $600,000 bio lab to accommodate them all.”