On July 1, 2025, the Indiana General Assembly effected the House Enrolled Act 101, a new Indiana budget bill that brings major changes to higher education. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education reported that six universities across the state have been affected, with 74 programs eliminated, 101 suspended, and 229 pending mergers.
At IU Indianapolis, several programs face suspension, including those of students like Rianna Vanhook, Laura Riley, and Phillip Wozniewski.
“It was still very frustrating that they got rid of a major that is very important in this world and very much needed,” said Laura Riley, an IU Indianapolis freshman majoring in American Sign Language.
“We are not a business; we are an institution of higher learning. Our goal is to teach students. Something is lost—or will be lost—if we only focus on numbers,” said Robert White, former dean of the School of Liberal Arts and former chair of sociology at IU Indianapolis.
IU students believe HEA 101 will result in low enrollment eventually leading to job insecurity.
“It is definitely going to cause a lot of deficits long-term, not just for the students but also for the state. It is definitely going to cause job insecurity,” said Rianna Vanhook, an IU Indianapolis sophomore double majoring in political science and global international studies.
Following HEA 101, new and current programs that are under threshold require the approval of CHE. Without CHE approval, “The degree program and any associated costs must be eliminated by the SEI.” IU faculty are worried about this uncertain time and what the future may hold.
“It is very disappointing for all faculty, for a variety of reasons. We try to provide a well-rounded education and we want our students to be educated broadly,” said White.
According to CHE, currently enrolled programs will continue under normal operations during 2025-26. Suspension or consolidation decisions will take effect 2026-27. For graduate programs, the commission will review enrollment averages from 2022, 2023, and 2024.
IU campuses and CHE created a “Mutual Consensus List” of under-threshold programs—programs that fall under the minimum enrollment requirement—effectively removing 15 graduates per bachelor’s degree and 10 per associate degree. However, IU’s Office of the Registrar already had a minimum policy of 10 undergraduates or six graduate students per course.
IU students are confused regarding CHE minimum completion requirements and seek more clarification.
“Why is the average at 15 people? So what about 15 people makes that program somehow physically well off as compared to 13 or 14 or 16,” said Phillip Wozniewski, an IU Indianapolis senior majoring in philosophy.
In response to HEA 101, IU has taken voluntary action by either eliminating, suspending, or merging programs. IU is still permitting currently enrolled students in suspended programs to finish their degrees or pursue a new major. IU students believe a merging program can bring up a credibility issue in the workforce.
“How am I going to go to an employer and say, ‘Yes my concentration in philosophy is just as good as that person’s major in philosophy.’ Are they really going to see that as equal? Are we going to pass the same accreditation test that we had in the past,” said Wozniewski. “And overall, how is this actually going to maintain our enrollment. I don't see how any of those things are necessarily going to pan out.”
“I feel they shouldn’t have cut any majors, because the college is going to get more money if all majors stay. I don’t feel like it matters that much how many students are in there, I just feel like it should have all stayed,” said Riley.
Degrees that are being suspended are not going to offer enrollment for incoming freshmen. Students and faculty are concerned about how HEA 101 will affect IU and the Indiana community as a whole.
“What shocked me was the suspension of American Sign Language and English interpreting because that program is very important for our community because our students—our graduates—get jobs interpreting in the [deaf] community,” said the chair of the department of world languages and cultures at IU Indianapolis, Kate Miller. “Students won’t be able to complete the degree and this degree has a direct line to employment.”
Government interference in higher education triggers concerns of how HEA 101 can threaten academic freedom. IU students believe higher education decisions regarding degree options should be up to the colleges and not the government.
“Something that I am so passionate about is being ripped away by someone who has power—who has the authority to do that,” said Vanhook. “You don't want the government saying, ‘OK you can’t study that because I don't agree with it.’ That’s not academic freedom, that’s censorship.”
The School of Liberal Arts has been the school facing the majority of cuts. Liberal arts enrollment rates are declining is a nationwide trend. The decline within the School of Liberal Arts has been an issue since 2012, according to the resources and planning report of 2014-15.
IU President Pamela Whitten has invested more than $1 billion in scientific research in STEM in 2025, following the IU 2030 plan. This effectively encourages IU to continue to be a health sciences based campus. The monetary investment can promote students majoring in STEM majors as opposed to other majors. This may raise concerns about the survival of liberal arts at IU.
“I think liberal arts in general is undervalued. A lot of people are like, ‘What are you going to do with a liberal arts degree?’” said Vanhook. “There is a stereotype in liberal arts that you are not going to get a job—you are not going to do anything in life and that kind of [discourages] people’s mind away from liberal arts.”
Despite the challenges, IU faculty is still hopeful.
“There are possibilities for collaborating within our department among the different language programs and potentially with other departments in school. Liberal arts—for example—there’s global and international studies,” said Miller. “That program has also been suspended, but those students—a lot of those students—took our language courses because there is a language requirement for that degree. It may be possible to collaborate with them. That will be a natural fit.”
The cuts in school programs have affected not only IU, but also other universities across Indiana and other states such as Ohio and Utah. These cuts are not isolated, they are part of a redefining shift of higher education due to the new federal policies of the Trump administration.