LEWISTON – Three four-year degree programs at the Lewiston-Auburn College are on a list to be evaluated and possibly eliminated, university officials said Monday.

One of those programs, natural and applied science, is needed by nursing majors. The other two are arts and humanities and a teacher education program called CLASS.

In all, 26 University of Southern Maine programs are on a list to be reviewed for change or mothballing because of low numbers, USM spokesman Bob Caswell said. Last year, less than 65 students graduated from the 26 programs, Caswell said.

L-A College is one of USM’s branches. Larger campuses are in Portland and Gorham. USM is looking at retooling or closing programs with low numbers because the university has to make cuts and address a multimillion dollar deficit.

Officials stressed no final decisions have been made. “The first step is to ask people in those programs to come up with a plan to increase enrollment and increase graduation numbers,” Caswell said. Those plans are due April 1.

If no plans materialize, the university may suspend program admissions on July 1, which would lead to the closings. No program would end while it has students. “Students enrolled would be able to complete their program,” Caswell said.

“As USM interim President Joe Wood said to faculty and staff, this is really an exercise that any university ought to go through, in good economic times and tough times, to meet student demands,” Caswell said. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

L-A College interim Dean Marv Drucker said Monday that he doubted two of the three programs on the list would close. It’s true the programs graduate few, but they have robust numbers of students taking classes to graduate in other majors.

Nursing is one example, he said. The Natural and Applied Science program provides classes nursing students need. Those students graduate with nursing degrees opposed to a natural and applied science degree, Drucker said.

The same is true for the arts and humanities program. Those classes play a significant role in helping students meet general education requirements, Drucker said. “We’re pretty sure the classes will not be removed,” Drucker said.

The teacher education class is in a different situation. Both its graduates and numbers of students in classes are low. “We’ll see if we can make some changes to make it more attractive,” Drucker said.

Caswell agreed with Drucker that programs may disappear, but needed courses will not. For example, at the Portland campus a chemistry major is on the list. Chemistry classes will always be offered. “The real question is, is there demand to offer chemistry for a major?” Caswell said. “We may eliminate a program as a major, but we would not eliminate all the courses.”

Drucker said the goal isn’t to eliminate programs but review them. At the Lewiston college “we’re reviewing all of our programs to make sure they’re doing the job. The mission of the L-A College is to provide an education for students of this area. We will continue to do that.”

Most students asked for comment Monday night said they hadn’t heard about the proposed review and possible program cuts.

JoAnna Hughes, 18, of Auburn, said nursing classes are needed at the college. “If they were to cut any classes for nursing or occupational therapy, it would be a disappointment and defeat the purpose of having a campus here,” Hughes said.

Other programs on the list at the Portland and Gorham campuses include four-year degree programs in women and gender studies, chemistry, biochemistry, economics, geosciences, environmental health and safety, physics, exercise science, radiation therapy, humanities, self-designed majors in classical humanities, classical studies, German and Russian studies, social science.

Also, master’s degrees in applied literacy, computer science, statistics, rehabilitation counseling, and certificate programs in nursing, continuing education and English as a second language, and nursing.

USM’s $8.2 million deficit started several years ago in part due to a drop in part-time students, many who have switched to community colleges. USM’s budget is built for 11,000 students; now there are 10,000.

In 2005 there was a $469,000 deficit; in 2006, $3.9 million; 2007, $3.5 million, and in 2008 a projected $2.6 million. USM is making cuts to bring spending in line with 10,000 students and erase the deficit, Caswell said.

So far there have not been any layoffs at the Lewiston-Auburn College, Drucker said, but vacancies have gone unfilled.

Staff Writer Autumn Merritt contributed to this story.