FSU Realigns Colleges for More Balanced Program Portfolios

Oct 30, 2023 8:00 AM

Frostburg State University recently underwent a realignment of departments within the College of Business, the College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to better balance the program portfolios of each program.

This lengthy process began in 2017 and ramped up throughout the fall of 2022 with several open discussions across campus to solicit feedback from faculty and staff. The consensus was to realign much of the academic departments into three reconstituted colleges.

The College of Business is now the College of Business, Engineering, and Computational and Mathematical Sciences. The College of Education is now the College of Education and Health and Natural Sciences. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is now the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The newly aligned colleges assumed operations at the beginning of the 2023-2024 year.

This realignment achieves several important outcomes including a more equally balanced distribution of student credit hours across the three colleges. The distribution of departments is more balanced with one college of ten departments and the other two having eight departments each. Departments with similar disciplinary interests and career paths are now together, providing the opportunity for new synergies within colleges to better address student interests and workforce needs across the state. Collaboration across colleges is still encouraged and supported.

FSU’s College of Business, Engineering, and Computational and Mathematical Sciences prepares students to successfully meet professional opportunities through a dynamic, student-centered educational environment that emphasizes leadership, notable and timely research, application of knowledge and global experiential learning. Departments within this college include accounting, computer science and information technologies, economics, engineering, management, marketing and finance, mathematics, recreation and parks management and sustainable construction management.

FSU’s College of Education and Health and Natural Sciences advances study and best practices by providing rigorous hands-on learning curriculums in its varied programs and prepares future leaders to enter a complex and global society with confidence and competence. Departments within this college include biology, chemistry and physics, educational professions, geography, kinesiology, nursing, physician assistant studies and social work.

The College of Arts, Humanities, and Social and Behavioral Sciences provides students with a rigorous liberal arts and sciences curriculum grounded in a flexible, broad-based general education program. Departments included in this college include communication, English and foreign languages, history, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, music, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, theatre and dance and visual arts.

“The administration is committed to reviewing this new structure on a regular basis in the future to make adjustments, if warranted,” said Dr. Ronald Nowaczyk, FSU president.

For more information on any of the colleges at FSU or this new realignment, visit the Colleges and Department web page.