Public colleges and universities in Indiana will soon have to prove to the state that new degree programs demonstrate a commitment to upholding American values before implementation.
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education is implementing a new process for program proposals that requires schools prove a course's curriculum cultivates "civic responsibility" and promotes a "commitment to the core values of American society" in order to gain approval from the commission, according to Indiana Public Media. Schools in the state have already cut nearly 20% of programs due to low enrollment and completion, removing courses such as Purdue University Fort Wayne's "Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies."
Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has taken major steps to keep higher education institutions in check, convincing all 15 of the state's public colleges and universities to keep tuition rates flat after petitioning the commission to recommend a 0% price increase. The commission's latest move seems to be inspired by Braun's plan for higher education.
The governor told the Daily Caller News Foundation in July that leftist programming at many institutions has pushed companies to stop requiring post-secondary degrees, believing they no longer carry the same weight they once did. Now, the state is set on ensuring college degrees are worth their price.
In January, Gov. Braun signed an executive order banning the taxpayer funding of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and initiatives at all state agencies. Specifically, the state now prohibits any "training, instruction, procedures, or programming" that endorses "preferential treatment of one person's particular race, color, ethnicity or national origin, over that of another person."
Recently, Indiana's University of Notre Dame tried to reduce its Catholic heritage, rewriting its staff values to exclude a requirement for employees to understand and accept "the Catholic mission of the university." After harsh backlash, the university backtracked and has made "Catholic Mission" the first of its five core values.