GRAND JUNCTION — A few of the approximately 50 majors at Mesa State College could follow retiring faculty out the door this year.

The college looks at cutting majors every year, said Mesa State President Tim Foster. Majors may be eliminated if the college chooses not to replace a professor or professors who leave a major few students are interested in, he said.

“We really are at a point where we should come together and say, ‘All right, are there some majors that aren’t really there,’” Foster told college trustees at a board meeting Wednesday.

Foster said the college went through a process four or five years ago to prioritize which majors should stay and which might need to go.

“I think we’re ripe to go back to that process,” he said.

Some majors could be cut but leave behind related classes in a department, said Foster. Whole departments are unlikely to go.

The goal would not be to cut one major for every major added, he said.

The board of trustees voted to add two programs at Wednesday’s meeting. One is an associate of applied science in visual communications with an emphasis in animation technology. The other is a technical certificate in visual communications with an emphasis in animation technology.

Both programs would begin this fall. The college expects 15 students to enroll in each program the first year.

Reach Emily Anderson at eanderson@gjfreepress.com.