Students at Mercyhurst University are raising concerns after learning several academic programs are being cut.

Some of them have said that not only does it pose risks for them in the future, but they also have to make career path decisions.

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Mercyhurst University said it regularly reviews its academic programs to align with student demand and long-term priorities.

For students like Elizabeth Russell, the announcement that her program was being cut came as a shock.

“The faculty and students at Mercyhurst University are not being heard, and there are no opinions that are being taken in from the students. I think that Mercyhurst has forgotten that the majority of the money that they make comes from the students,” Russell said.

The university said students in affected programs will still be able to complete their degrees through a teach-out process, working with advisors to ensure a path to graduation.

There are nine programs being shut down. Those include:

However, students like Russell, who was part of the now cut geology program, said that it might not have been thought through completely.

“The physics department was cut, and so the class that I was going to be taking next semester has been cancelled. And next semester for me was supposed to be the semester that I could not screw up at all, and now it looks like I will not graduate on time based off these department cuts and the classes that are offered being cancelled,” Russell said.

The university said they sent out an email to help all these students who were impacted by these cut majors individually.

But students like Russell said they don’t feel like that’s enough.

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Russell said they were told the university would work with students when needed. Besides that, she feels that there has been no course of action taken.

Mercyhurst Provost Richard McCarthy said in an email that the university announced the changes in late March and has been communicating directly with students, offering advising and academic support.

The university said the cuts are part of a broader effort to restructure their academic offerings.

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