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On one side of campus, UDC students plan a protest for Monday, calling for the resignation of President Allen Sessoms over his misuse of university funds for extravagant travel expenses. Within the university, some ire has risen over a preliminary academic review, outlining plans to restructure some programs and degrees, renaming others and outright eliminating those with the lowest interest.

Monday’s student protest was originally scheduled for last Friday, but was scrapped when rumors and arrests and retaliation proliferated, reports Fox 5. According to MPD and university officials, tomorrow’s demonstration should go off without a hitch, as long as students abide to city laws and UDC codes of conduct. Sessoms has since responded to the travel receipts in question, sending out a community letter and calling the whole situation a “misunderstanding.”

On the other side of the desk, UDC may be making major status changes to as many as 18 major degree programs in order to save money and reinvest in programs more akin to the changing labor market. A preliminary review from the faculty senate, president and trustees recommends a number of reworkings across campus.

This kind of consolidation is going on across the country. Healthy institutions change, grow, move in new directions, in response to limited resources and the changing demands and needs of society. Howard University has discontinued 70 programs. Reasons: no evidence of program viability (demand) or currency; record of low enrollments, retention, and/or graduation rates; failure to provide the appropriate credentialing required for labor market; or other indicators of poor quality.

It remains to be seen exactly how many students will be affected, but although the changes will not be immediate, some students will find the news irksome.