Future Focused initiative prioritizes student success, academic excellence, community impact and financial sustainability
- Jacksonville University will continue to offer its 37 most sought-after undergraduate majors and 15 highest-demand graduate programs
- Future Focused reflects significant input from University senior staff and academic leadership, including deans, unit administrators and a special faculty task force
- About 100 of the University’s 4,200 students directly impacted
- Controllable expenses will be reduced by about 10% by Fall 2025
Jacksonville University announced today that the university has reimagined its academic offerings to propel student success and academic excellence, meet market needs and create long-term financial sustainability. The Future Focused initiative, which continues the University’s commitment to producing graduates who are critical thinkers, well-qualified in their fields and ready to solve real-world challenges, was introduced by administrative and academic leadership to students, faculty and staff across campus today.
“As a premier private, comprehensive University, we are in the business of preparing tomorrow’s leaders for success in their chosen fields. It is our responsibility to continually evaluate how best to achieve that mission – by focusing our resources at the intersection of student demand and real-world opportunity. Future Focused extends and deepens that commitment,” said Jacksonville University President Tim Cost, JU Class of 1981. “With this reimagined academic catalog, we are moving decisively to do more of what we do well for our students. Together with our Board of Trustees, I thank our Provost, our Deans, the heads of our schools and institutes, our special faculty task force, and our senior staff for their collaboration. They helped build a realistic pathway that fits our priorities, provides focus and serves our community.”
The reimagined academic offerings include:
- Jacksonville University will continue to offer its 37 most in-demand undergraduate majors and minors, including nursing, healthcare science, business administration, psychology, computer science, cybersecurity, marine science, aviation, finance, dance, visual arts and media arts, among others. These offerings represent the majors of 96% of current Jacksonville University students.
- The University will continue to offer 15 graduate programs at the masters and doctoral levels in high-demand fields such as clinical mental health counseling, speech-language pathology, law, public policy, business, marine science and dance. The highly successful College of Law, which graduates its first class in May 2025, will continue all programs and offerings. LECOM at Jacksonville University, the area’s first four-year medical school, successfully broke ground on March 26, 2025 and remains fully on track to open in Fall 2026.
- As of May 5, 2025, the new Linda Berry Stein College of Arts and Sciences will house combined disciplines from the Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts & Humanities and the traditional College of Arts and Sciences. Led by Dr. Christopher Corbo, this college will serve approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 15 fields of study in the School of Fine Arts and Humanities, the School of Social Sciences and Education, and the School of Science and Mathematics. As part of the consolidation of the colleges, Dr. Timothy Snyder, who has ably led the Stein College for more than six years as Dean and served the University with vision and dedication for 15 years, is retiring.
- Beginning in Fall 2025, some consistently undersubscribed and specialized fields of study will no longer be offered as majors to new, incoming students, and some programs will be sunsetted. These changes affect the declared majors of about 100 of the nearly 4,200 students. In all cases, all current students in those majors will be offered a pathway to graduation from JU, and the vast majority are expected to complete their planned degrees through teach-out plans that comply with the University’s accreditation.
- The University held meetings with these students this morning and is providing comprehensive, dedicated Care Team services to discuss personalized academic plans. The Care Team includes representatives from the registrar’s office, student affairs, academic advising, student financial services and the career exploration office.
“At Jacksonville University, we are committed to the academic opportunities and personalized support that create an environment in which our students thrive,” said Dean of Students Dr. Kristie Gover. “As we prepare for the next academic year and beyond, we are supporting our students through comprehensive wraparound services that give each of them access to the guidance, tools and services that they need to succeed as part of our campus community.”
Future Focused reflects months of discussion among the Jacksonville University campus community, including close coordination with and recommendations from faculty. The University created an Academic Financial Task Force made up of unit administrators and an experienced cohort of tenured and non-tenured faculty. Collective recommendations reflected hundreds of hours of conversation with Deans, unit administrators and the work of the faculty Task Force. The vast majority of these recommendations were accepted by the University Administration and Board of Trustees.
“These important academic decisions reflect hundreds of hours of analysis, consideration, debate and discussion among senior University leaders from all departments, including our faculty,” said Provost, Dr. Sherri Jackson. “I recognize and thank our highly engaged faculty and the academic affairs staff for their candid and spirited discussions. Their input supports our work to become an even better university for our students.”
Long-Term Financial Sustainability
As a result of these updated academic offerings, 40 faculty are being separated this week. University leaders also introduced a comprehensive plan to streamline academic infrastructure and optimize expenses to fuel these academic priorities. The University expects to reduce controllable expenses by 10% across all of its operations by Fall 2025.
“This is a critical moment for the hundreds of universities like ours nationwide to focus and prioritize their academic offerings, serve their core constituents, and create long-term financial sustainability,” said Kim Banks, Chief Financial Officer. “The higher education industry nationwide is being asked to reenvision its financial model. We are ready to meet this new landscape.”
Fueling the Future
Work is underway to develop the University’s 2025-2030 strategic framework and key priorities, which is expected to be completed this summer. A 15-member committee has undertaken a comprehensive approach that includes assessing the current higher education landscape, benchmarking, and engaging hundreds of internal and external stakeholders through meetings, surveys, and individual and small-group discussions. The final strategic plan framework and key priorities lays the foundation for our colleges, departments, and functions to drive toward our 2030 institutional goals with alignment, intent, purpose, unwavering focus, and clarity. The Future Focused initiative reflects insights from the 2030 team.
