The Louisiana Board of Regents decided Thursday to cut three University academic programs and to consolidate six programs effective immediately. Students will no longer be able to start a bachelor’s degree in women’s and gender studies, a master’s degree in comparative literature or a Ph.D. in comparative literature. The Board of Regents also consolidated the bachelor’s degree program in food science and technology with the bachelor’s in nutritional science. The doctoral programs for business administration were consolidated from four different concentrations into one. Students currently enrolled in these programs will not be affected by the terminations, said Meg Casper, associate commissioner of public affairs for the Board of Regents. These students will be given time to complete their course of study, while new students will not be offered the terminated programs, Casper said. The Board of Regents considered data from a five-year period to establish low-completer programs subject to elimination. Undergraduate programs must meet standards of eight completers per year with a minimum of 40 graduates during the five years monitored to not be considered low completers, according to a Board of Regents news release. Masters programs require an average of five completers per year or a minimum of 25 graduates within five years. Doctoral programs require two completers and 10 graduates in the five-year span. The programs cut were identified in April 2009 and given additional time to increase their performances, Casper said. ‘This is a way for Universities to focus limited funds on programs that are really producing,’ Casper said. In all, the board announced the elimination 28 programs statewide on Wednesday. The regents have cut 245 programs since Jan. 2009 as a result of these reviews. —- Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at [email protected]