BY MIKE NOLTING
Foreign language majors at West Virginia University are learning via email how the teach-out process will be administered.
World Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (WLLL) is being eliminated as part of WVU’s academic transformation. The WVU Board of Governors voted earlier this month to eliminate approximately 130 programs and more than 140 faculty positions.
When the teach-out is complete in foreign languages, only classes in Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and French will remain, but WVU officials have said they are working to develop a partnership with another Big 12 school to offer more in-depth opportunities.
Students will no longer be able to declare majors in any language.
Current students with primary majors in WLLL with 60 credit hours by the end of the fall 2023 semester are the only students with a guaranteed teach-out. Minor or secondary major students are not guaranteed a teach-out but may still pursue WLLL classes as they are available.
Students with declared majors in Chinese or Spanish by or before fall 2023 will be given the opportunity to finish their degree work. Students with majors in German studies or Russian studies declared by or before the fall 2023 semester will be eligible for the teach-out if they have or are pursuing the 60-credit hour mark. These students must also complete a minimum of 30 major credits, including their capstone, by December 2024, or the major will be removed.
Minor students in Arabic studies, Chinese studies, French, or Spanish will be allowed to complete work at their own pace. Those with minors in German studies, Latin American studies, Russian studies, linguistics, foreign literature in translation, teaching English to speakers of other languages, and Slavic and East European studies must submit their minor course work by Dec. 15, 2024, or the work will be removed from their records. Because there are no Japanese program faculty members, incomplete Japanese studies minor students’ records will be removed prior to registration in October.
At the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, the foreign language requirement will be removed as a degree requirement and removed from the 2024-25 course catalog. The number of general electives required for these students will also be adjusted by the Registrar’s Office.
The WVU Faculty Senate will hold its next meeting at 3:15 p.m. Oct. 9 at the College of Law.
