Officials at Arizona State University announced Feb. 11 that the university plans to terminate more than 30 academic programs to accommodate the $88 million in budget cuts the university has carried out since June 2008.

"For the past seven years, ASU has expanded its enrollment, added new academic programs and enhanced quality and productivity at every level to serve the people of Arizona better," said ASU President Michael Crow. "Making cuts of this sort now is extremely painful to all of us at ASU, but we have no choice."

The decision comes several weeks after all university employees were placed on mandatory, unpaid furloughs ranging from 12 to 15 days. 

Among the programs slated for termination are all graduate degree programs offered on the West Campus, the W. P. Carey School's MBA Sports Business Specialization and the master's program in Kinesiology.

The social work program in Tucson will be closed, and funding for the AIMS scholarship program will be suspended.

University officials also said they will stop accepting freshman applicants starting next month, five months earlier than usual.

All students currently enrolled in programs slated for closure will be allowed to continue in the programs.