What programs would remain if KSU cuts pass, limiting school to 10 areas of study?
Under a bill moving through the General Assembly, Kentucky State University could offer no more than 10 “areas of study” for the next five years — but it’s not yet clear which academic programs would remain if the bill passes and the school transitions to polytechnic institution.
A KSU spokesperson said the university does not currently define its academic programs as “areas of study,” and would work with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education to determine which would continue to be offered. Sixty-one degree programs are offered now at KSU.
Senate Bill 185, sponsored by Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, passed out of the Senate last week and now heads to the House for consideration. Originally a “shell bill,” which are filed and given necessary readings and assignments, so lawmakers can strip them and put something new in at the last minute, it now outlines steps to reorganize KSU into a school that emphasizes technical and industry-based education.
KSU will submit a report listing the programs it proposes keeping by June 1, as well as a list of programs it recommends closing, the bill says.
Lawmakers said they considered closing the school, which has been plagued in recent years by financial and accreditation problems, but they instead are proposing major changes. The school is “in a state of financial exigency that needs to be remedied,” the bill says.
KSU spokesperson Michael Strysick said the university is operating under a balanced budget this fiscal year.
The bill would place KSU’s financial controls under the Council on Postsecondary Education, the Kentucky body that oversees higher education statewide. Transactions of more than $20,000 would need CPE approval, and monthly financial reports would be sent to the council. KSU was previously under state and CPE oversight from 2021 to 2025.
Under the bill, KSU would be required to:
- Offer no more than 10 areas of study for the next five years, along with online programs, the College of Education and other programs deemed necessary by the Council on Postsecondary Education;
- Have a target enrollment of at least 1,000 in-person students;
- Retain only the faculty and staff necessary to support that enrollment;
- Limit enrollment only to students who do not have an outstanding balance with the school greater than $1,000;
- Have all transactions greater than $20,000 approved by CPE.
KSU has just over 2,500 students enrolled in the fall 2025 semester, according to CPE data. KSU currently offers more than 40 “areas of study,” according to the university’s website, though a KSU spokesperson said the university does not categorize its academic programs as areas of study.
The bill says the College of Education, programs that are offered exclusively online, and other programs determined by CPE “to be necessary to the university’s mission as a polytechnic institution” would be excluded from being counted in the 10 offerings.
“We do not currently organize or count our offerings using an ‘academic areas of study’ framework,” Strysick said. “If the bill becomes law, it would create an opportunity to rethink how programs are grouped within broader academic areas, potentially in a more interdisciplinary way. We would be expected to work closely with CPE throughout that process to ensure alignment, and the academic program review may also provide additional information to help inform sound, data-driven decisions.”
KSU is the state’s only public historically Black university, a status it would retain with the changes. It would also remain a land grant university, the university said, which is a federal designation under the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 that set aside universities for education related to agriculture, science, engineering and military science.
KSU currently has several agricultural research programs, including the only full-time research program dedicated to Kentucky’s native pawpaw fruit.
KSU has been plagued by financial problems in recent years, with the school previously placed under state oversight as its former president resigned amid a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall. A study completed in 2025, at the conclusion of the state’s oversight, found that persistent budgeting and financial problems remained.
The state legislature gave KSU $23 million to address the shortfall in 2022, and as part of receiving those funds, the university had to create a management improvement plan with CPE. At the same time, the university’s board of regents was overhauled via a Senate bill.