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NEWS RELEASE
Restructuring Natural Resource Majors
Madison, WI FEBRUARY 3, 2011 – A troublesome trend is occurring at colleges and universities around the country: fewer students are graduating with degrees in natural resource related degree programs. As a result, the number of qualified professionals to manage fish and wildlife programs is dwindling. What is even more troubling is that nationally, the percentage of students enrolling in the major has increased. For reasons unknown, students have been leaving the natural resource degree path after enrollment to pursue other degrees. Finding cause for the steady decline in student interest was the focus of a Michigan State University study, published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education.
Wolter hopes the study will motivate schools across the country to develop strategies aimed at increasing enrollment in natural resource related majors.