This Week In College Viability (TWICV)

Springtime in higher education is bringing more and more stories of individual college financial trauma and industry-wide trends that almost always are negative.

+ Limestone College (S C) nears what may be its final days of existence.

+ Jacksonville University faculty issues ‘no confidence’ vote in President Cost after decision on cuts

+  Ryan Craig:  An Unexpected Consequence Of The Push For Student Loan Forgiveness

+ Fewer students earned college degrees for 3rd straight year

Shownotes:

College Viability Web Site

College Viability YouTube channel

Penn State branch campus closure announcement now expected after commencement, final exams

Ithaca College to lay off sign language professors

'We Will Have No Choice'  Buried in Debt, This Small College Says It May Be Headed for Closure

Students, school officials react as Limestone University faces closure amid financial uncertainty

With tight deadline, Utah universities scramble to cut 10% of budget for courses

JU cuts nearly half of undergraduate degrees, focuses on high-demand fields

Jacksonville University faculty issues ‘no confidence’ vote in President Cost after decision on cuts

Harvard has an endowment of over $50 billion. So why do federal cuts of a few billion matter?

Fewer students earned college degrees for 3rd straight year

‘Abandoning Our Soul Should Not Be an Option.’ Closing Campuses Isn’t the Only Answer to Meeting Penn State’s Challenges

There is much to catch up on in this week's podcast episode.

Highlights include: 

+ Two Mass. colleges in financial ‘danger,’ accreditation agency finds – Belatedly so.

+ Our College Closed: Advice for Navigating Professional Deaths and Rebirths

+ The reason dozens of Mass. colleges could close within a decade (hint: it’s not Trump)

+ Shock:  A politician speaks out on a public college closure.

+ Yet another accreditation for an undeserving college.   When will accreditors wake up and make colleges graduate more than 50% of their students.

+ Much more.

Show Notes and Links

Georgia's public university system combines two schools

Two Mass. colleges in financial ‘danger,’ accreditation agency finds

Concordia University to layoff 41 staffers, including in Ann Arbor, amid restructuring

Our College Closed: Advice for Navigating Professional Deaths and Rebirths

Universities Are Seeking Billions In Bonds As Protection Against Trump’s Assault

The reason dozens of Mass. colleges could close within a decade (hint: it’s not Trump)

Universities face ‘daunting’ facilities needs, report says

Sen. Baker on potential closure of PSU Wilkes-Barre: ‘This is not a done deal’

Faced with a perfect storm, small local colleges try to navigate the future

ESU accreditation reaffirmed by Higher Learning Commission, next reaccreditation in 10 years

Sonoma State officials outline recovery plan amid massive budget deficit and cuts

Purchase the 2025 College Viabiltiy App for Executive Analysis

Purchase the 2025 College Viabiltiy App for Students & Families (also for faculty and staff)

Jonathan Nichols self-published the first edition of Requiem for a College in 2022.

Here is the Amazon description of the book from 2022.

On February 3rd, 2017, Saint Joseph’s College, a small college in Rensselaer, Indiana, announced it would “suspend operations,” effectively ending an over 100 year history as a four-year college. While most of the world may not have taken notice, the day left a painful void in the lives of the College’s students, faculty, employees, alumni, and the surrounding community.

Requiem for a College is their story. Many books have examined the trend of small college closings. This one looks at what happens to the people involved.

Jonathan Nichols has drawn upon hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over five years as well as piles of documentation to determine exactly what happened at the college and in what ways the loss transformed so many lives. Not only that, but as Saint Joseph’s College is part of the ongoing wave of small college closures in America, Requiem for a College links Saint Joe to other colleges that have closed, showing commonalities as well as lessons for other institutions to heed.

Great tragedies often provoke conspiracy theories. In its reconstructed, definitive account of this institutional collapse, Requiem for a College demonstrates that causes of said tragedies are often more human and mundane than shadowy conspiracies, but are thus in their own way, much sadder.

The continuing pattern of college closures, layoffs and cutbacks that have occurred since 2017 inspired Jon to publish a second edition of the book.  This second edition adds more stories about the personal and higher education impacts.

In the coming months, I will host additional episodes of the podcast to delve deeper into the stories of college closures for both the individuals involved and the colleges that have closed.

The second edition of Requiem for a College is scheduled for release in late 2025.

Here are the big headlines for This Week in College Viability.

+ Free-Falls: Stocks and Colleges

+ Do strategic alliances yield significant financial results?

+ 2 colleges cut ALL NCAA sports programs

+ ‘Requiem for a College’ 2nd edition is out in 2025

+ Lower stock market returns to impact college endowments.

For private demos of the College Viability App, the College Majors Completion App or the PDS Private College Advanced Financial Compass, email:  [email protected]

Show notes and links

Spring Hill College Announces Strategic Alliance with Rockhurst University for Academic Collaboration

Rosemont College to merge with Villanova University in multi-year transition, schools say

Bryn Athyn College (PA) Axes All Sports Programs Citing Budget Constraints

Academy of Art University (CA – SF) Announces Discontinuation of Intercollegiate Sports Programs

Georgia Tech sets new record with nearly 67,000 applications for fall enrollment

Over 100 employees to be laid off as college in northern Wisconsin closes in May, citing lack of attendance and high costs

Stanislaus State University faculty members decry layoffs amid budget shortfall

City Council to investigate state of higher education following string of mergers and closures

College guide raises questions on BGCT-related colleges

I saw the value of the college experience up close this past weekend.  I attended a fundraising benefit for a local private college.   20 college athletes.  (still student-athletes – although I may change my mind on that)  They put on their best clothes, were introduced to the 800 people in attendance, ate a really nice chef-prepared meal, and helped excite the crowd during the live auction.

They had the chance to shake hands and learn how to be good at meet and greets.  

Why do I open today’s podcast with this?  Today’s podcast continues to chronicle the financial, cultural, and operational challenges many colleges face.  But the college experience is so good for so many. 

Show Notes and links

2025 College Viability App for Executive Analysis

2025 College Viability App for Students & Families

College Majors Completion App - for College Leaders

College Majors Completion App - Students & Families 

From Today's podcast:

EIU spring on-campus enrollment down 9.77%

Financial stewardship during uncertain times (Kansas University)

‘You can’t create 18-year-olds’: What can colleges do amid demographic upheaval?

Chico State unveils new webpage dedicated to the university’s budget

Chico State budget web page

Best wishes to all of my Irish friends on this St. Patrick’s day 2025.  I looks like the jacket I am wearing is green.  So, I should be good to go.

An ugly weather weekend in the eastern half of the country.  It looks like a tornado might have hit within a mile of our St. Louis suburban home Friday night.

An economic tornado continues in Higher Education.  Here are today’s news and commentary stories.

+Lots of layoffs and cutback stories today.

+ Albright College tries to spin mid-year financial growth.  Just plain silly.

+ A story about a bid public growing, but students are concerned.  It fits my belief that we are witnessing a substantial student movement toward big publics.

+ NJCU Votes to Merge With Kean University, Awaits OK from Middle States

+ A story on what could happen if the DOE loses its ability to collect college data.  Hint:  college will have a license to lie.

Link to the Private College Financial Compass

Show notes/links

USU (UT) announces $17.3 million in budget cuts, which includes voluntary buyouts, possible layoffs

Lakeland Community College to lay off faculty as enrollment drops

WWU announces more layoffs to chip away at $18M deficit

Franklin & Marshall College (PA) to cut staff in April

Fitch Downgrades La Salle University (PA) to 'BB-'; Outlook Negative

Albright College Exceeds Expectations with Strong Mid-Year Financial and Academic Growth

Wittenberg placed in financial distress status by college accreditation group

UConn’s expected enrollment growth puts stress on students and local community

NJCU Votes to Merge With Kean University, Awaits OK from Middle States

Student Loan Borrowers Are Reporting Huge Spikes In Monthly Payments As Repayment System Buckles

Chaos and confusion as the statistics arm of the Education Department is reduced to a skeletal staff of 3

The lead this week is how do college athletics tie into Higher Education finances?  

Other news and commentary stories on: 

+ University of Dayton cutting 65 faculty and staff positions.

+ An interesting public college merger in New Jersey

+ St. Augustine’s (NC) on its last appeal to maintain accreditation.

+ A PA politician wants to make it harder to close public colleges.   

Show Notes / Links

University of Dayton Not Renewing Contracts of 45 Faculty Members, 20 Staff in Wave of Cutbacks

New Jersey City University, with declining enrollment, to merge with Kean University

Saint Augustine’s University loses appeal, pursues arbitration in fight to keep accreditation

Pa. representative fights to make it more difficult for colleges to close regional branches

Forbes 2025 College Financial Health Grades  (behind paywall)

Middle States says Keystone College remains accredited

Listen to the fascinating history behind the development of Dr. Matt Hendrick's Perspective Data Science (PDS) and its two major higher education financial comparison and analysis products.

It started with announced program cutbacks at the University of Tulsa in 2018.  It has evolved into a technology-based marvel that captures, analyzes and displays some 1 million data points for about 1,300 private colleges from 2016-2024.

The PDS Advanced Compass compares a private college with different sets of peer groups across more than 40 reports from audited financial statements, IRS 990's and IPEDS data.

The Strategic Compass drills down even deeper on an indivdual college and a variety of peer groups. Contact me at [email protected] to schedule a 1:1 demonstration on how the Strategic Compass could help your college.
 

Springtime is close.  Spring training is underway in Florida and Arizona.

Let’s do our own spring training and look at these stories.

+ 2 public colleges TSU and Penn State are in the college cutback news.  TSU with staffing cuts, and Penn State will soon be looking at closing some regional public colleges.

+ Middle States hosted a webinar:  How to close a college.  I will look at the possible motivations.

+ College Closures Are a Blessing in Disguise

+ A merger that won’t happen.  What that may mean for future college mergers.

+  And much more.

Show notes:

'Lives will be impacted': TSU proposes staffing, scholarship cuts to stay open

Chancellor calls for layoffs, cuts at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

Penn State Beaver among list of possible closures as college faces declining enrollment

Gutted courses, fewer majors, faculty layoffs: Who will feel Cal State’s 8% budget cut?

California legislators demand “comeback” plan from Sonoma State administration during forum on campus

College Closures Are a Blessing in Disguise

University of Findlay not proceeding with Bluffton University merger

Why Is It So Hard to Merge Colleges?

Raleigh college jumps on free tuition bandwagon

SEMO Sees Strong Growth in Key Enrollment Areas for Spring 2025

Spring Hill College dropping majors due to ‘under-enrollment’

Selling Yesterday's Solutions: Why Higher Ed Vendors Face Extinction

It is universally acknowledged that higher education is faced with a multitude of challenges.  The working relationships between college faculty and their president is certainly high on the list of those challenges.

The two authors of 'No Confidence - When College Faculty Turn Against Their Presidents', Chuck Ambrose and Mike Nietzel were gracious enough to join me for a special edition of 'This Week in College Viability'.  While the book won't be released for many months, the points made are worthy of consideration today.

Here are the question Mike and Chuck addressed during the podcast interview.

1. What are the factors you believe make this a timely book?

2. From the book:  "In the past two decades, but especially in the post-pandemic era, one of the most common reasons behind no-confidence votes has been faculty objections to presidents’ management of their institution’s finances, particularly when those decisions have involved eliminating academic programs, streamlining the institution’s organization, and reducing the number of faculty and staff."      Question:  How many of these no-confidence votes are the result of cultural intransigence on the part of faculty and how many are based on real financial concerns?
   
   
3. From the host:  The data on financial struggles is clear.  There are resources out there that will let stakeholders, including faculty, see how their college compares to other colleges.  College faculty are data-trained folks.  Why do you think there is a focus on data in their respective academic disciplines and borderline ignorance or maybe indifference of financial data?
   
   
4. From the book:  "One of the more cynical allegations was that presidents had exaggerated the seriousness of the budget problems, using them as a pretext to get rid of faculty troublemakers or disfavored programs.  Faculty also charged that administrators were often relying on faulty data and trampling on shared governance norms in the process."  Are faculty generally informed about the difference between a budget - which is basically a hoped-for prediction - and an audited financial statement - which is a rule-based documentation of actual financial performance?
   
   
5. From the book:  " “You know anytime in higher education that a president advocates for major changes at an institution, it’s going to lead to a faculty outcry. It’s why no-confidence votes are becoming more common. The need for change is running head on into an entitlement mentality that change is unnecessary."  WVU President Gordon Gee.  Is Dr. Gee right or wrong?
   
   
6. From the book: Governing boards are far too willing to defer to presidential assurances that the financial house is in good order; or that if it’s not, enrollment will pick up, an upcoming fund-raising campaign will bring financial security, or the state will answer the call for increased appropriations. The alternative scenarios -- where enrollments keep dropping, revenue continues plunging, expenses are mounting, the state is still cutting appropriations, and where once loyal donors are finding other good causes to support with their gifts -- are not taken seriously until it’s too late."     How can governing boards be more proactive in assessing the true financial health of their institutions, rather than relying solely on presidential assurances?

The book will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press.