Delta State University in rural Mississippi eliminated it’s highly regarded music department. It’ also cut English, math, chemistry, and about a third of the courses that it used to teach.

And Delta State’s far from alone. Arkansas State, the University of North Carolina – Greensboro, Youngstown State in Ohio, West Virginia University have all made significant course cutbacks.
That’s a problem. People in rural America already have far less access to colleges and universities than people in cities and suburbs. Nearly 13 million people in the US already live in higher education desserts, places well beyond commuting distance to a college.

But now many of the schools that exist to serve rural students are cutting programs and majors.
We talk about this trend, and how it exacerbates the already wide economic, social and political divisions between many rural and urban Americans.

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Credits:

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report.