WKU’s Board of Regents approved 10 degrees and certificates at its Friday meeting, including a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Disaster Science.
WKU offers a disaster science certificate, but David Brown, dean of the Ogden College of Science and Engineering, said the certificate is primarily for students already in the workforce. He said a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Disaster Science will give students a “fuller experience.”
Brown said this program will “grow out” of WKU’s meteorology program, the largest meteorology program in Kentucky or Tennessee, according to the WKU Meteorology website.
Brown said the program will be one of the few like it across the country, but will help fill a need.
“Hardly any day goes by that we don’t see some need… for disaster preparedness or emergency management,” Brown said.
He said students in the program will learn how to anticipate when a disaster will strike and how storms evolve. Brown believes it will become a “signature program” for WKU.
“I believe WKU is going to be a center for providing these students, not only to Kentucky… but the region, the nation and really the world,” Brown said.
Brown said the disaster science program is strong and will build off existing courses while adding more.
“We’re ready to go,” Brown said.
The other programs that were approved were:
- Master of Science of Applied Behavior Analysis
- Digital Health & Data Management Graduate Certificate
- Health Policy and Systems Management Graduate Certificate
- Sustainability Practices in Health Leadership Graduate Certificate
- Global Economic Issues Undergraduate Certificate
- Bachelor of Science in Environmental, Earth, and Sustainability Sciences
- Statistical Data Science Graduate Certificate
- Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Advertising & Public Relations
The Board of Regents also approved the suspension of the Bachelor of Arts in Art History and the Minor in Graphic Design.
Terrance Brown, dean of the Potter College of Arts and Letters, said PCAL will still provide education in art history, but it won’t be in a degree program. He said different faculty and student interests led to the suspension of the degree program.
“At universities, we hold on to things for so long and we forget that some things have shelf lives,” Terrance Brown said.
Terrance Brown said there are “a few” students enrolled in the program, and they will do “the teachout program” to finish their degrees.
Terrance Brown said the suspension of the graphic design minor was to make room for the graphic design certificate.
Financial Standing
WKU’s total revenue minus its total expenses, or net operating result, increased by more than $3.5 million in fiscal year 2026, according to the second quarter statement of revenue and expenditures presented to the Board of Regents.
WKU’s net tuition revenue, which is the amount of money the university earns from tuition, increased to $127.9 million, a $9.5 million increase from fiscal year 2025. Net tuition revenue makes up the largest portion of WKU’s total $244.8 million in revenue.
WKU’s financial assistance dropped to $43.4 million in fiscal year 2026, a decrease of $6.5 million from fiscal year 2025.
Susan Howarth, vice president of strategy, operations and finance, said the increase in net tuition revenue was “directly related to an improvement in our strategic improvements to our scholarship plan.”
WKU’s revenue from grants and contracts declined by $2.2 million in fiscal year 2026, a 5% decline from 2025. Howarth said it was a result of a decline in Pell Grant-eligible students. She also said WKU saw a “10% decrease” in outside research grants.
Wages and Salaries decreased by $616,318, a change Howarth said was because of a decline in employee full-time equivalent.
Opportunity fund
The Board of Regents hosted Talaya Guest, a senior studying corporate and organizational communication, to talk about her experience with the Opportunity Fund.
WKU’s Opportunity Fund, which helps students in financial need attend WKU, reached its goal of raising more than $100 million in 2024. Guest, who is graduating in May, said the Opportunity Fund helped her “get to the finish line.”
“That (the Opportunity Fund) really did help with me continuing my education, because I felt that I would have had to drop out, even though I came so far,” Guest said.
Student Success Coordinator Emmeline Essler said giving students access to the Opportunity Fund “makes a huge impact in their lives.”
After Guest shared her story, and the stories of two other students who benefited from the Opportunity Fund were presented, Caboni, who was visibly emotional, said, “this is why we do the work.”
“It’s why I come to work every day,” Caboni, choked up, said. “I’m not here to grow the first-year class; we’re here to grow the number of graduates, no matter your economic background, no matter who your parents were, no matter where you come from. If we’re going to admit you, we want you to graduate.”