Author Information
Michael Ray Smith, Independent Scholar, United StatesAbstract
In 2024 the Lithuanian Ministry of Education denied a small, Baltic liberal arts university reaccreditation of its communication program, meaning it can no longer offer an undergraduate degree in communication. Over the next several months the department reorganized and was granted reconfiguration as Global Business and Public Engagement, and then Global Business and Communication. At first the ministry said the program must end teaching existing students by December 2025, but later said the students in the existing major could be taught through December 2027. The newly developed Global Business and Communication program is a degree in the business study field and it follows all the requirements of a business degree but with a focus on communication. This qualitative research explores this case study using Face Negotiation Theory to explore the various stakeholders in their struggle to assist students from many countries in the completion of their academic work while retaining the essence of the study of communication. In addition, this paper suggests that administrators and faculty worked to save face with students and each other. The research suggests that deeper transparency may have helped the university with its stakeholders.
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress