USF’s Board of Trustees’ ACE committee voted to terminate or suspend five programs, including three in the College of Education. ORACLE PHOTO/AUDREY KOCZANSKI

A USF Board of Trustees committee unanimously voted to terminate four programs, suspend one and add two new ones on Tuesday.

The BOT’s Academics and Campus Environment committee, which focuses on academic affairs, moved to shutter three master’s programs in education — math education, social science education and STEM education. 

The committee also moved to terminate the aging sciences bachelor’s program and suspend the social work doctoral program. 

The decisions will be voted on by the full board on March 10. 

The move comes just two months after the BOT identified 15 programs that had fallen below state and institutional standards in December, including the five programs that were terminated or suspended on Tuesday.

Some USF deans who participated in the meeting said the program terminations will not cause faculty turnover or delay students’ graduation timelines. 

Related: USF to shutter Sarasota-Manatee’s honors college in August

Jenifer Jasinski Schneider, the dean of the College of Education, said the termination of the math education and social science education degrees is part of a structural reconsolidation.

“Licensure, eligibility and subject matter depth remain unchanged in a more navigable program structure,” Schneider said. 

She added that USF’s STEM education master’s program serves just two students — who graduate this spring — and will be terminated due to “persistent” enrollment issues. 

Schenider said there will be no faculty turnover or delayed graduation for any students in the affected programs. 

“The certification pathways will remain intact, and faculty positions will be unaffected,” she said. 

Julie Serovich, the dean of the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, said its bachelor’s in aging sciences will be terminated due to low enrollment.

“Students gravitate towards those classes, but they don’t necessarily want to major in [Aging Sciences],” Serovich said. 

Serovich said the college’s health care administration program, which provides a “basic education” in gerontology, offers opportunities similar to those in the aging sciences program. 

Related: USF’s new president wants to position USF as a “model university”

The social work program, which the BOT identified in December as “under consideration for termination,” will be suspended through 2029. 

In the meantime, Serovich said the college will look to offer a more competitive financial aid package to social work doctoral students. 

“We have to find a better way of putting together a more competitive package for our students so that we can attract the very best and retain them with very interesting lines of research,” Serovich said. 

Despite the terminations, the BOT also approved two new undergraduate degrees to begin in fall 2026.

One of the additions is a bachelor’s in fintech, which follows USF’s launch of a master’s in fintech in fall 2025.

David Blackwell, the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business, said USF will be the first university in the state to offer an undergraduate degree in fintech. 

Fintech, short for financial technology, is a software that provides financial services such as online banking or investment platforms, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  

USF’s bachelor’s program in fintech will address a “strong demand” for financial technology professionals, according to BOT documents. 

Blackwell emphasized the need for Tampa to “catch up” to fintech leaders like Seattle, Washington and Denver, Colorado, which have a high concentration of STEM degrees. 

“It’s a program of strategic emphasis,” Blackwell said. “It incorporates in the curriculum all of the modern technologies that we’re aware of, including AI, and we formed a program with a lot of industry advice.” 

Related: USF’s Bellini College of AI marks rapid growth in its first semester 

The BOT also approved the creation of its first bachelor’s degree in architecture through the College of Design, Art and Performance.

USF previously only offered a Master of Architecture, which is a six-year, 168-credit-hour program, according to the School of Architecture and Community Design. 

Chris Garvin, the dean of the College of Design, Art and Performance, said the six-year program led to a decline in the school’s four-year graduation rate. 

The approval of the bachelor’s degree in architecture opens a new path for students to pursue a four-year program. 

“By creating a four-year undergraduate program like this in a STEM field, as well as our graduate program now, we can put out twice as many students,” Garvin said. 

USF will continue to offer its six-year Master of Architecture program and its two-year track for students who hold a bachelor’s degree in architecture. 

“In doing this, we split one degree and made it into two [degrees],” Garvin said. 

USF Faculty Senate President David Simmons said decisions on the terminations, suspensions and additions were made to serve students’ needs.

“Folks should look and see that [terminations and additions] builds confidence in the phenomenal shared governance process we have, where we’re constantly working to serve our students better,” Simmons said.