Colleges in Dire Financial Straits

[apl68]

Bethany College, WV.

I think they've been on this thread once or twice before.  They've been going downhill for a long time.  I wonder whether this could be their final year?  Their trouble finding a president suggests that this could end up being an especially messy and abrupt final collapse.

You don't think the eSports minor launched this spring will revive enrollment enough to justify spiffing up the dorms to house 300 additional students?

You can't say they aren't trying to keep up their spirits and accentuate the positive!  I wonder where they plan to get the money for that dorm renovation mentioned in the last paragraph?  Given the brute facts that spork cites above, it sounds delusional.

[spork]

Bethany College, WV.

I think they've been on this thread once or twice before.  They've been going downhill for a long time.  I wonder whether this could be their final year?  Their trouble finding a president suggests that this could end up being an especially messy and abrupt final collapse.

You don't think the eSports minor launched this spring will revive enrollment enough to justify spiffing up the dorms to house 300 additional students?

You can't say they aren't trying to keep up their spirits and accentuate the positive!  I wonder where they plan to get the money for that dorm renovation mentioned in the last paragraph?  Given the brute facts that spork cites above, it sounds delusional.

In my opinion it's borderline criminally fraudulent. Potential students should go elsewhere. Marshall University, for example, is about 20% less expensive to attend and its graduation rate is 10 percentage points higher.

[spork]

Not unexpected given the merger with Montclair State: at least 10 of 43 full-time faculty at Bloomfield College had their jobs terminated.

More Bloomfield employees will be deemed redundant in the coming months.

[spork]

Finlandia University will close in May.

Anyone working at a private institution with an FTE undergrad enrollment of less than 600 needs to find another job as soon as possible.

[marshwiggle]

Finlandia University will close in May.

Anyone working at a private institution with an FTE undergrad enrollment of less than 600 needs to find another job as soon as possible.

That boggles my mind. We have currently about 600 in the first year of our program. (And we're not the biggest university in 100 km.)

[apl68]

There are scads of little colleges like this in some regions, filling all sorts of regional niches.  For many years it was possible to make a school like that work.  But in the college world, as in so much else, economies of scale, increasing complexity, and a general tendency toward centralization with a few winners and many, many losers is killing off the little guys.

[Ruralguy]

Much of the mid-Atlantic through to New England has many small colleges, most of which you've probably never heard of. yes, many of them, especially those in areas served by much bigger public and private schools have gone away.

if a college endowment is very large, it can struggle for a long time  even under a poor enrollment environment, BUT that doesn't mean that it will (and it likely won't!) keep the same level of faculty and staff employment during the decades long death spiral.

[Diogenes]

Not sure if posted yet, but North Idaho College (at CC) just had it's credit rating downgraded.

I'm not super stoked on the fact that a public good has to survive on it's reputation for value for private equity.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/after-final-warning-from-its-accreditor-north-idaho-colleges-credit-rating-is-downgraded

[Hibush]

Not sure if posted yet, but North Idaho College (at CC) just had it's credit rating downgraded.

I'm not super stoked on the fact that a public good has to survive on it's reputation for value for private equity.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/after-final-warning-from-its-accreditor-north-idaho-colleges-credit-rating-is-downgraded

Private equity is upset because of the dysfunctional academic administration, which has led to programs that the accreditor won't approve.
"Prolonged and public disputes among the board and the college, as well as the local community, have resulted in turnover in the office of the president and legal counsel, litigation, delayed audits, and most notably, possible loss of accreditation."

[apl68]

Henderson State University, having cut 88 faculty positions and 25 degrees, is now adding two STEM degrees that it presumably believes have a future:

The Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Sciences approved Friday provides a pathway for students who desire to explore the world through the natural sciences, according to the ASU System.

The degree plan serves students pursuing prerequisites for medical school, dental school, pharmacy school, dental hygiene school, veterinary school -- such as the one Arkansas State University plans to open in Jonesboro in 2025 or 2026 -- optometry school, and physical therapy school, according to the ASU System.

The students expected to enroll in this program are those currently interested in biology and chemistry, medical school, and other professional pathways, as well as students who are seeking future STEM degrees.

The program has the space and equipment necessary to offer all courses listed, according to the ASU System. "No new faculty are required for this proposed program as it is only comprised of current course offerings."

The other program approved Friday, the Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education, with a focus on Math Education, will require one new full-time faculty member to be hired at $65,000 annually, according to the ASU System.

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/mar/11/henderson-state-adding-2-degrees/


The Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education makes sense in light of Henderson's longtime role as a teachers' college.

[Wahoo Redux]

It's probably time to turn most of our colleges into trade schools.

[kaysixteen]

Will anyone who enrolls in the new BS in Natural Sciences from this school, ahem, actually be able to use said degree to get into med school?

[Langue_doc]

Clarion University is trying to stay afloat despite its shrinking enrolment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/13/business/economy/college-towns-economy.html

Colleges Have Been a Small-Town Lifeline. What Happens as They Shrink?
Declining student enrollment is hitting the rural areas that rely on universities. They're trying to adapt to survive.

[marshwiggle]

Henderson State University, having cut 88 faculty positions and 25 degrees, is now adding two STEM degrees that it presumably believes have a future:

The program has the space and equipment necessary to offer all courses listed, according to the ASU System. "No new faculty are required for this proposed program as it is only comprised of current course offerings."

So if it gets more students than they currently have, it's a win, no matter how many are in that specific "program".

Will anyone who enrolls in the new BS in Natural Sciences from this school, ahem, actually be able to use said degree to get into med school?

That will mostly depend on how good the students are that go into the program.

[lightning]

Will anyone who enrolls in the new BS in Natural Sciences from this school, ahem, actually be able to use said degree to get into med school?

If the Natural Sciences degree program is a student retainer program that broadly pools the cupcake classes from the biology and chemistry program, in order to retain students who would otherwise flunk out of a traditional biology or chemistry program, then probably not. Those med schools want to see certain types of classes on the undergraduate transcript, and those are usually the non-cupcake courses (e.g. organic chemistry).

These marginal Henderson students will be four years into and out of the program before they start figuring out that they have been misled. And, it will be another 4-5 years before potential students realize that a BS in Natural Sciences is just a way to attract & retain marginal tuition-generating students who will ultimately go nowhere. So, there is an 8-10 year employment window for the faculty, staff, & administrators in the biology & chemistry areas. That's enough time for the remaining boomer employees to finish out their career.

This is the new reality for "hard" majors at places like Henderson.