KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The University of Kansas has announced plans to close its Center for STEM Learning and UKanTeach program at the end of the academic school year.
While more than 100 students are currently in the program, only 14 of them are expected to finish in May.
"I was a bit shocked. I know that we had not been given any forewarning about it," said Katherine Wolf, a junior majoring in molecular cellular and developmental biology. "I don't really have any backup plans."
The UKanTeach program allows science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) majors to earn a teaching license with their degree, preparing them to teach in secondary schools in Kansas and around the country upon graduation.
The director and founder of the program at KU, Dr. Steven Case, said the closure came as a surprise in late August. His team was preparing for the year as normal when they learned the program was out due to budget cuts.
"We are trying to work out ways to make sure that students who are currently in the program will be able to complete the program," Case said. "It's not clear how that's going to be done yet."
While many students are under the impression that they will not get to complete the program, the interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Dr. John Colombo, said that's not the case.
"Students currently in the program will be able to finish, and they will not have to start over," he said in a statement to 41 Action News. "We have been aware of claims made in the public sphere that this action means KU is eliminating or curtailing the training of STEM teachers. These claims are false."
Instead, Colombo said the students will be able to get their teaching license from the School of Education. He said the transition will allow the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to save nearly $1 million toward its budget deficit.
Click here to read the letters sent to students.
The UKanTeach program has stopped accepting any future students. Although a plan is in place, some current students continue to wonder how it will all play out.
"I'm considering just starting over and going to the School of Education," said Kylee Hipp, a sophomore majoring in ecology evolutionary and organismal biology. "I don't know if the better path for me would be to add a couple years onto my school time because either way I look at it, that's what I'm going to be doing."
Students have until Oct. 8 to express interest in completing the UKanTeach program for secondary mathematics and science education.
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