This Week In College Viability (TWICV)

Here are the headlines for the June 10, 2024 TWICV podcast.

Columbia College (IL) in the news again with a final layoff announcement

College Enrollment Up For Second Semester In A Row, Finds New Report GS:  I will tell you why that is misleading.

Tuition discounts at private nonprofit colleges reach new highs, study finds

U Arts (Philly) another really short-notice closure

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Show notes: 

 With enrollment declining, Benedictine University (IL) in Lisle announces layoffs

Viterbo University faces budget deficit, plans to cut 25 positions

Cal State Monterey Bay announces layoffs

OHSU will lay off at least 500; financial crunch ‘raises questions’ about Legacy merger

Breaking: Board of Trustees approves sweeping changes to address financial deficit after finding college has met requirements for ‘adverse circumstance’   Columbia College Chicago IL

Colleges Ramp Up Debt Sales in Frenzied Race for New Students  (Behing paywall)

College Enrollment Up For Second Semester In A Row, Finds New Report

The Dark Side of Enrollment Management

Tuition discounts at private nonprofit colleges reach new highs, study finds

University of the Arts’ accreditor looks to correct the record on closure timeline

PLUS:

UArts had explored a possible merger with Drexel two years ago — but it didn’t materialize

Here are the headlines from the May 20, 2024 episode

+  3 colleges in the cutbacks, layoffs, and closure list

+ 3 Missouri privates don’t respond well to being on a ‘watch list’

+ The abrupt closure of Wells College.  Bad for the industry. . . 

+  Student loan interest rates go up – a lot on July 1st.

+  NY rep introduces bill to establish rules for a college seeking to close. (That always works)

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Show note links:

University of Southern Maine announces layoffs to take effect Friday

Delta State president proposes cutting budget along with multiple departments

Budget cuts leave Whitworth University (WA) students concerned for their futures

The University of Saint Katherine announces sudden closure, filing for bankruptcy

Southwest Missouri universities on new report's "watch list"

The story of how one college abruptly closed — and kept everyone in the dark

Education Dept. announces highest federal student loan interest rate in more than a decade

Following Wells Announcement, Bill Would Set Rules for College Closures

Keystone College announces progress in plan to remain open

• A look at St. Cloud State’s plan to cut 46 degrees
• i-dotters and t-crossers
• High Schools are bracing for widespread teacher layoffs. Here’s why
• Spin. Spin. Spin. At Illinois Tech
• STL PD and college closures in its region
• Cleveland .com:  Editor: Buffoonery, incompetence and lies     “Our job, though, is to call them out. So, we do.”

Show note links:

‘A matter of right-sizing’: A look at St. Cloud State’s plan to cut 46 degrees

Accreditor: Keystone College in ‘Danger of Imminent Closure’

(High) Schools are bracing for widespread teacher layoffs. Here’s why.

Illinois Tech Sees Unprecedented Growth as Undergraduate Applications and Admissions Surge 35% Year-Over-Year
 
Fontbonne University is closing. Which other colleges are at risk of shutting down?   (Behind a pay wall.)

Buffoonery, incompetence and lies

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On a busy closing and cutback week, my news and commentary this week includes:

• Keystone College (PA) in trouble
• Alverno College (WI) cutsback
• Wells closes.  Sends students to a college that is all financially weak.
• Northland College continues to string along its faculty, staff, students, and community
• Talk of a catastrophic Fall continues
• 200 NCAA DIII teams no longer exist
• Drake U Board cuts the leadership legs off of its president.

Show note links:

Keystone College (PA) pursuing rescue plan to prevent closure

Keystone College in ‘danger of imminent closure,’ accreditor says

Facing $9 million deficit, Alverno plans to cut jobs, academic programs ( https://finance.yahoo.com/news/facing-9-million-deficit-alverno-211111534.html )

Wells College’s closing comes after more than a decade of money struggle

Northland Will Stay Open Thanks to ‘Transformational Gifts’

Experts fear ‘catastrophic’ college declines thanks to botched FAFSA rollout

In A Rising Tide Of College Closures, Impact On Division III Athletics Becomes Clear

Drake University cuts three academic programs to close a budget shortfall

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These are the news and commentary headlines for April 29, 2024
·         Northland College (WI) just can’t find anyone to turn of the light switch.

·         A really good student-written article about Drake U’s financial challenges

·         Dubuque named and Spalding searching for new presidents.  We will go to the data for both.

·         Jon Marcus at Hechinger had one of his stories picked up by the WAPO. 

·         Colleges are now closing at a pace of one a week. What happens to the students?  Most never finish their degrees, and alumni wonder about the value of degrees they’ve earned

·         Amy Morona at Signal Cleveland continues to rise up my list of good HE reporters.  This week we will talk about her story on Cleveland State.

·         Dan Bauman from the Chronicle writes about colleges digging into their endowment more than ever.  I am going to focus on WEU and something Dan writes about called going concern.

·         Private regional colleges will face stiff competition from public institutions, Moody’s predicts

Show note links:

Northland officials sound a hopeful note after ‘transformative’ donations

Protests over budget cuts continue at Board of Trustees meeting

Drake’s budget: How did we get here?

This Under-the-Radar Pay Model Puts a Dollar Amount on Class Size

Colleges are now closing at a pace of one a week. What happens to the students?

‘We are at a point of reckoning’: Inside Cleveland State’s latest meeting about its financial future

Amid Financial Headwinds, Some Colleges are Digging Deeper Into Their Endowments.  Will more follow?

Private regional colleges will face stiff competition from public institutions, Moody’s predicts

Will the FAFSA fiasco force current college students to drop out?

More Gen Zers could ditch college this fall — and some schools are worried they might never fully recover

College Viability series of Apps

2024 Private College Viability app for Executive Analysis
 

2024 Private College Viability app for Faculty & Staff

2024 Private College Viability app for Students & Families

PUBLIC COLLEGE APPS
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Faculty & Staff version

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In this special edition of 'This Week in College Viability' we hear from an alum of a college that is clearly in significant financial trouble.

Jeremy Lakosh is a 2005 graduate of Eureka College (IL).  He is the CEO of a retirement community in Eureka and has spent 6-years on the Eureka Alumni Board - and led the group for 2 years.

Mr. Lakosh's story is one of both conviction and supporting data that his college is quite likely on the way to ruin - and possible closure.  It is also one that I frequently read about and hear about from others.   

For example, he cites a recent financial statement going from a positive cash flow of $500K to a negative cash flow of $1.75 million dollars.  Mr. LaKosh also shares how a Facebook group (Eureka College Alumni Update) started in December 2023 has already grown to about 1,500 members as proof that there is widespread alumni concern about the direction and potential closure of the college.

Efforts by the alumni group to communicate with both the college leadership and board have been met with silence.

Listen to the specific story about Eureka College, but know that it is a story all to common in smaller private colleges throught the U.S.

The April 22nd episode includes these news stories and commentary

1. HLC says: ‘We are not hospice’
2. What happens to faculty, staff, students and the community when a college closes
3. The Boston Globe must be reading and listening to my content.  They talk about the right way to close a college.
4. Webster University auditors have concerns about the university’s ability to continue as a going concern.
5. Adding college football is not the enrollment boosting panacea that many college presidents have hoped for.
6. Wrap:  Using AI to anticipate FAFSA mess impact.
7. And more....................................

Show note links:

University of St. Thomas (MN) to cut 26 staff positions, leave 30 open positions unfilled

Financial consultant report tells UWGB leaders to ‘act with urgency.’ Here’s why

HLC:  ‘We are not hospice’: The race to get faster in predicting college shutdowns

With the college-age population shrinking, some schools won’t survive. There’s a right way for them to close.

Webster University's deficit ballooned in fiscal 2023, latest tax filing shows (Behind a pay wall.)

Waiting too long can doom a college merger, experts say

The Incredible Shrinking CSU: Unraveling the Impact of Declining University Enrollment at SFSU

COLLEGE FOOTBALL UNLIKELY TO BOOST CAMPUS ENROLLMENT, PER STUDY

College Viability series of Apps

2024 Private College Viability app for Executive Analysis
 

2024 Private College Viability app for Faculty & Staff

2024 Private College Viability app for Students & Families

PUBLIC COLLEGE APPS
Executive Analysis version

Faculty & Staff version

Students & Family version

This week top stories include:

·         Why are financial statement auditors not giving us a heads-up on trouble colleges?  I will share the results of my research on recently closed colleges and what is NOT in their audited financial statements

·         Is it a college or is it a tuition collection agency.  Keystone College is our case study.

·         Delusion from NDC supporters

·         Northland College and bad educational leadership

·         Reporters still don’t get the financials of colleges they cover.

·         The college closing crises finally makes it to CNN

Show Notes / Links:

Goddard College closing its doors due to financial struggles & declining enrollment

Cleveland State’s board signs off on next steps for faculty, staff buyout offers

Eastern Gateway to Begin Dissolution in June

UNC Asheville makes staff cuts as $6 million deficit is expected to grow to $8 million

Keystone submits required closure plan as a precaution

Notre Dame College release states there is “no pathway” to keep school open, but supporters still believe there may be

Wisconsin College Teeters on the Brink, in Public  Northland WI

Financially-distressed NJCU needs a partner. But which university can afford to take on the school?

St. Norbert College explains new program offerings amid enrollment decline, budget deficit

Small private colleges are struggling to keep their doors open as declining enrollment leads to financial instability (CNN)

Wheeling University president suspended with pay

Birmingham-Southern to lay off 213 employees without severance pay: ‘No funds are available’

Links to the College Viability Apps. 

Nobody can articulate the trials and tribulations of a closing college better than Jonathon Nichols.  His 2022 book, 'Requiem for a College' details both the emotional trauma he and his St. Joseph College (IN) faced as the college moved from fear of closing -- to actual closure a few months later.  His book also describes the research Jon did on the actions and inactions of the leadership of that college.

In this special edition of 'This Week in College Viability', Jon draws analogies with the Fontbonne closure announcement and offers guidance for faculty and staff who may fear their college is next. 

In this week's episode, here are some of the news and commentaries.

1. Northland College is going to hold more bake sales (Sarcasm alert)
2. Mike Rowe ( of Dirty Jobs) has a spot on todays podcast.
3. USDA loans are not all they are cracked up to be.
4. The College Counterpoint podcast
5. The president of a closing college talks about closures – en masse.

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Show notes:

Northland College closure status still up in the air after April 4th meeting

Mike Rowe explains how we’re ‘entering a whole new time’ of smart money as path to prosperity ‘shifts’

President: Manhattan College is not closing

The $2.2 Billion Bet.  A Federal Loan Program Meant to Help Rural Colleges May be Hurting them.

Universities of Wisconsin overhauls website as it tries to reverse declining enrollment   (Behind a paywall.)

College Counterpoints web site

Yes, Colleges do close