IHL Board approves degree program changes, establishment of new university centers

• One of the new university centers approved Thursday was the National Center for Tactical Readiness the Oxford campus at Ole Miss. The center looks to improve the operational readiness of first responders and military personnel.

Adjustments were made to several degree programs by the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, including additions, suspensions and deletions, during Thursday’s meeting. The establishment of three new centers and one institute were also approved by the IHL Board.

Air and Space Law

The new degree program the IHL Board approved is the Master of Science of Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi.

It will take 30 credit hours for students to complete and is expected to bring a five-year potential revenue of about $1.7 million. The graduate level program will be housed under the School of Law.

Dr. Casey Prestwood, Associate Commissioner for Academic and Student Affairs, described the program as providing a focus on the aviation and space legal sectors that will empower graduates with the ability to bridge law and industry while becoming part of the growth in those industries.

Students will engage in the program online and once completed, the degree will be applicable to risk management, contract specialists and academic researchers, to name a few. Prestwood added that none of Mississippi’s public institutions offer a similar program. 

Suspended or Deleted Programs

Several degree programs are being suspended or deleted as part of the results from IHL’s annual academic productivity review process.

Academic programs are considered for review when the number of graduates falls below a set benchmark over a three-year period. For baccalaureate degrees that benchmark is 18 graduates. Master level programs are required to maintain at least 12 graduates, and doctorate degree programs require five graduates. A total of 35 programs were reviewed this year. 

As a result of the IHL Board’s decision Thursday, five programs will be placed on a list for subsequent review in the next two years. Two of those program are offered at Alcorn State University – the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and the Bachelor of Science in Robotics and Automation Technology. Three programs at Jackson State University will be placed on the same review list – the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education, Master of Arts in English, and Master of Sciences in Education in Special Education. 

Another seven programs were presented to the IHL Board for suspension, which the Board approved. Prestwood said that students currently enrolled in these programs can still earn their degrees, but new students will not be accepted. Those affected programs include the Bachelor of Science in Recreation at Alcorn, the Master of Science in Biosystems Engineering at Mississippi State, and the Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics and Information Management at UMMC. The remaining four degree programs are offered at Southern Miss – the Master of Arts in Political Science, Master of Arts in Anthropology, Master of Science in Computational Mathematics and Data, and Master of Science in Physics. 

The IHL Board also approved the deletion of two programs – the Bachelor of Applied Technology at Mississippi State and the Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration at Southern Miss. 

New Centers Approved

In other business, the IHL Board approved the creation of several centers at various universities. 

At Mississippi State University, the Nancy Fair Link Laminitis Research Center will be located at the College of Veterinary Medicine in the Wise Center. A 13-year donor agreement will provide funding for the center, which will cover the salaries of faculty and staff as well as other expenses. The center’s purpose will be to provide research opportunities for laminitis care in underrepresented equine populations, notably those not used in racing.

A new center known as the Center for Information Advantage and Effectiveness will be located at the Oxford campus of the University of Mississippi. Annual costs for the center are estimated to be $175,738 which will come from grants, gifts, in-kind donations and sponsored programs. At the center, the mission will be to conduct research on how organizations can measure the impact of their messaging and how it may affect the public. 

“To achieve its mission, the CIAE will partner with public and private sector organizations and consider the use of both AI and traditional message planning, content creation, and dissemination,” Prestwood explained to the IHL Board.

To improve the operational readiness of first responders, military personnel and other tactical personnel, the University of Mississippi is establishing the National Center for Tactical Readiness at the Office of Research and Economic Development on the Oxford campus.  This new center is anticipated to cost just under $1 million annually, with funding to be provided through state and federal funds along with private donors. The center is expected to address readiness challenges that are experienced regionally and also elevate the institution to a position of leadership in tactical performance and resilience innovation.

“This center fills this strategic gap by leveraging the university’s interdisciplinary faculty strengths in exercise science, engineering, pharmacy, public health, and behavioral health to conduct real-world research, deliver workforce training, and build collaborative partnerships,” Prestwood stated. 

Creation of a new institute at Ole Miss was also approved by the IHL Board. The institute, called the Mississippi Institute for National Security and Resilience, will work to assess and anticipate demands and ensure the challenges of meeting threats are achieved. Located on the Oxford campus, the institute will include two centers – the Center for Information Advantage and Effectiveness and the National Center for Tactical Readiness that focus on security and resilience on the state, national and global levels. 

“While each center will maintain its own specialized focus and autonomy, their integration within this institute will enable unprecedented cross-disciplinary and government, industry, and broader stakeholder collaboration,” Prestwood described.

The anticipated annual cost of the institute is roughly $270,000, which is expected to come from external grants, gifts, donations and sponsored programs.