Small college economic issues threaten their ability to function as a community asset
Many small towns have decent quality of life because of the presence of small colleges, their economic and social capital impact, the offering of special events that are attractors, etc. For example, Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia has a summer theater festival. Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Etc.
But in the covid era, college enrollment has dropped significantly ("Public colleges and universities hit hard by declines in enrollment," NPR) and this has impacted many colleges, even big ones, but especially small colleges that already were facing economic difficulties.
In Michigan, where I went to school, only the University of Michigan continues to gain students. They are planning on building 5,000 rooms in new dorms. Michigan State has stayed even, and all the other state colleges and universities have lost enrollment. And like in other places, some small colleges have shuttered.
The New York Times has a story today, "Colleges Have Been a Small-Town Lifeline. What Happens as They Shrink?" (written by Lydia DePillis, who started out at the Washington City Paper, congratulations on landing at the Times!)
I have written about this issue of how communities can better leverage colleges and universities. Mostly about urban universities, but the principles still apply to smaller towns.
-- "University President Freeman Hrabowski and an agenda for urban universities," 2021
-- "President of Washington State University dies: fostered development of the "University District" adjacent to Downtown Spokane," 2015
-- "Universities as elements of urban/downtown revitalization: the Portland State story and more," 2014
-- "Better2016
leveraging higher education institutions in cities and counties:
Greensboro; Spokane; Mesa; Phoenix; Montgomery County, Maryland;
Washington, DC," 2016
-- "College town follow up: alumni as residents and contributions to community capital," 2015
-- "More
Prince George's County: College Park's militant refusal to become a
college town makes it impossible for the city(and maybe the County) to
become a great place," 2015
-- "Revisiting past blog entries: College Park as a college town and economic development | PG County and Amazon," 2018
-- "DC, Universities and "making versus taking" or universities that add to a community's capital and those that don't ," 2019
-- "John Fry, president of Drexel University, and universities and cities ," 2022
-- "Robert Lang, who helped reshape Southern Nevada’s economy, dies at 62," (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
more specific articles on colleges and economic development:
-- "How the closure of a Pfizer research center in Ann Arbor, Michigan led to the development of a biotech sector there," 2021
-- "Naturally occurring innovation districts | Technology districts and the tech sector," 2014
-- "The
other George Miller idea: creating multi-college innovation centers in
(cities) Philadelphia | Creating public library-college education
centers as revitalization initiatives," 2021
but not so much about small colleges, but I have
-- "Master planning and scenario planning in the face of economic problems in higher education," 2019
and definitely in relation to art and design colleges and how cultural planning initiatives for communities should have a higher education element and a monitoring process to ensure the colleges are in good health economically.
-- "Should community culture master plans include elements on higher education arts programs?," 2016
-- "Revisiting stories: community culture master plans should include an element on higher education institutions," 2017
Holy Names University, Oakland, California. Besides the New York Times discussion, there is area reporting in the SF Bay about the economic failure of the Holy Names University ("Bay Area university faces default on loan for its huge property," San Jose Mercury News) and now how city officials and the lender have sent a letter to the university asking to help work things out ("Oakland and lender seek “win-win” rescue for Holy Names University").
The school has already announced it's shutting down at the end of this academic year.
That process "of working together" should have been initiated a long time ago.
HBCUs. There's been some interesting reporting about some black colleges gaining students ("How these HBCU presidents fixed their colleges’ financial futures," Christian Science Monitor) and I was really impressed that Morgan State University in Baltimore is adding a medical school ("Morgan State University's new medical school president seeks to graduate more Black doctors," WYPR-FM/NPR), so there is still hope. The key is to constantly be focused and planning and forward looking.
Labels: cultural planning, economic development planning, higher education
posted by Richard Layman @ 4:00 AM&Permanent Link
14 Comments:
https://fortune.com/2023/03/09/american-skipping-college-huge-numbers-pandemic-turned-them-off-education/amp/
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/04/28/metro/small-private-colleges-business-model
Small, private colleges are now a much less viable business
Universities of Wisconsin announces 1 campus to close, 2 others end in-person class
https://www.wisn.com/article/universities-of-wisconsin-richland-campus-to-close-others-end-in-person-class/45560328
Universities of Wisconsin president Jay Rothman announced the closure of one branch campus and the end of in-person classes at two additional campuses.
UW-Platteville Richland is the campus to close, while UW-Milwaukee at Washington County and UW Oshkosh, Fond du Lac are to end in-person classes in June 2024.
... Rothman said that choices made by most traditional and nontraditional students drive the decision, not cost savings.
Retaining the 10 branch campuses located in Barron County, Baraboo, Manitowoc, Marinette, Marshfield, Menasha (Fox Cities), Rock County, Sheboygan, Waukesha, and Wausau will be determined by community needs and the ability of the Universities of Wisconsin to meet those needs.
According to Rothman, conversations will include offering four-year and graduate degree options, upskilling and reskilling opportunities for the existing workforce, expanding dual enrollment, or opening ‘navigation centers’ for high school and nontraditional students seeking guidance on their university journey.
College of Saint Rose in Albany to close. Asked city, county, and state to bail them out. But with an immediate deadline that was impossible to meet.
As I say when you need money ask for it when you're not in absolute crisis.
https://www.timesunion.com/education/article/college-saint-rose-asks-state-albany-officials-18520279.php
College of Saint Rose asks state, Albany officials for emergency funds
11/29/2023
The college receives 80 percent of its funding from students and had a $17 million deficit in the previous school year, according to Fitch. It drew heavily from its endowment to pay its bills, the report said.
Over the years, Saint Rose spent millions buying property to augment its campus near the confluence of Madison and Western avenues. This year, it tried to sell eight of its 90 properties, but so far only three have been purchased.
The College of Saint Rose board met Thursday and voted to close the school.
https://www.timesunion.com/education/article/college-saint-rose-announces-close-school-year-s-18522277.php
11/30/2023
The closure means hundreds of people will lose their jobs, students will be forced to transfer to other schools, and 87 properties — almost all of them clustered in the Pine Hills neighborhood — will be left vacant.
In fall 2022, there were 118 full-time faculty and 107 part-time faculty, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. There are 500 to 600 employees in total.
... According to a 2022 study by The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association and The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, only 47 percent of students at schools that closed transferred to another institution, per the report written. Of those who did transfer, 26 percent took at least a year off before returning to college. That means only about a third of students immediately continued their education after their school closed.
... Cuts have continued under White's leadership. In 2020, she said more cuts were necessary to achieve a balanced budget by 2023. The school eliminated another 25 programs and 41 faculty positions, as well as administrative cuts, designed to save $13 million.
But it was all predicated on enrollment stabilizing. Instead, enrollment continued to drop. In 2020, there were 2,200 undergraduates, according to the State Education Department. Federal statistics say the college had about 1,800 undergraduates in 2022, and that number continued to drop this fall.
More on College of St. Rose
12/5/2023
Russell Sage, others making offers to Saint Rose students
https://www.timesunion.com/education/article/russell-sage-colleges-making-offers-saint-rose-18534225.php
Only hours after news broke of the impending closure, Russell Sage College said Saint Rose students had called, emailed and in a few cases walked in to find out about transfer opportunities.
... Also, the professor who started the Cold Case Analysis Center at Saint Rose is moving to Russell Sage in January and will start an expanded version of the center there.
[I didn't think about how viable programs could transfer too.]
... But there’s bad news for graduate students.
Russell Sage was upfront about its limitations on accepting grad students. Its policy is to accept transfer credits amounting to only 25 percent of the master’s program. But the program director can take into account the students’ circumstances and may waive other courses.
Other colleges may be a better fit for grad students who are more than a quarter of the way through their program. SUNY Empire State University, which is known for helping students complete degrees that they started elsewhere, accepts 12 graduate credits, but the courses must have a grade of a B or higher. Generally, master’s programs involve a total of 30 credits.
Sheehan talks future of Saint Rose campus after closure announcement
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/sheehan-talks-future-saint-rose-campus-closure-18532356.php
The buildings at The College at Saint Rose are likely to be vacant after the college closes next year, but Mayor Kathy Sheehan said Monday she was optimistic other local colleges will eventually occupy some of the structures on the campus.
... Despite her optimism, Sheehan said she expected Saint Rose’s buildings, nearly 90 structures in all, to be vacant immediately after the college closes. “We have six months to prepare and we owe it to our residents to make sure we do that,” Sheehan said.
https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2023/12/03/saint-rose-closure-pine-hills-small-business.html
Saint Rose closure to ripple through neighborhood businesses
Paesan's Pizza is near the corner of Ontario Street and Madison Avenue, a block east from the Saint Rose campus. Scavio said with the college closing its doors, he anticipates that location will lose 10%-15% of its business.
"All the people that work there [at the college] are customers. We've been there 30 years, so a lot of these people become family. And a lot of them are going to be losing their jobs. So it's not only the college kids," he said.
https://archive.ph/1MLMS
https://www.startribune.com/umd-duluth-bulldogs-enrollment/600325120/
12/7/2023
Low enrollment drives University of Minnesota Duluth to examine majors, courses
Since 2018, undergraduate enrollment at the University of Minnesota Duluth has dropped by about 300 students annually, a number that has grown because of the pandemic, but part of a long-term trend at the regional campus.
... "It is critical that we get our arms around this now," because it means "under-utilized faculty," he said. "Doing nothing in a marketplace that is grossly oversupplied (with college choices) and a high price point is a recipe for big trouble."
It's a problem higher education institutions are facing across the state and country as people forgo college and birth rates decline.
The university considers low-enrollment classes as those with fewer than 15 students or, in the case of deliberately small classes, less than half full. Nearly 30% of its courses meet that guideline. Just 10 of its nearly 80 majors serve about half of the university's undergraduate students. Forty of those majors serve 13% of its students.
"Smaller programs, small (numbers) of students in the classroom; that's a big contribution to our budget challenges," said Amy Hietapelto, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs.
UMD overcame a $15 million deficit this year with half the funds coming from one-time money left over from departments across campus and half from the U system. Next year, it faces a similar shortfall, but half will again be covered by the U system. That deficit total doesn't account for enrollment loss, spokeswoman Lynne Williams said.
This Private College Has Been on Its Deathbed—for 15 Years
Birmingham-Southern seeks new Alabama lifeline as city pushes to avoid closing of campus
Wall Street Journal
https://archive.ph/ovHsx#selection-389.0-393.88
1/20/2024
When Alabama’s legislative session opens next month, Daniel Coleman has one goal: persuade lawmakers to keep his college alive. Again.
Coleman is president of Birmingham-Southern College, a private liberal arts school in Birmingham, Ala. It had 731 students in the fall—less than half its peak enrollment—and expects even fewer for the spring semester.
Coleman, staff, students and local leaders were banking on the school’s reopening next fall with help from a $30 million state loan program created last spring specifically for distressed private colleges. But Birmingham-Southern’s loan application was nixed by the state’s treasurer. Still, Coleman said the college hasn’t run out its clock quite yet.
Like many small, private colleges—and plenty of large public institutions—Birmingham-Southern has been teetering on the brink of financial crisis for years. It was felled by overzealous spending and rosy revenue projections, a hands-off oversight board, and prolonged enrollment woes. It also raided its endowment to cover operating costs.
... Birmingham’s City Council voted in November to lend the Methodist school $5 million — $2.5 million now, at 10% interest but forgivable if the school reopens in the fall, and another $2.5 million next year, payable over 20 years at 1% interest.
The school secured another $5 million in loans from the United Methodist Church and several private supporters, solidifying its finances enough to keep the lights on through May.
... “The destabilization is what really scares me. I shudder to think what that 200 acres would be like if it went dark and vacant,” said Carol Clarke, a city councilwoman whose district includes the Birmingham-Southern campus. “It would be just devastating.”
Last year the federal government awarded Birmingham a $50 million redevelopment grant, earmarked for an overhaul of housing in a low-income area that borders Birmingham-Southern’s campus. Clarke and other local officials said the campus’s closure would undermine momentum to revitalize the community.
Goddard College Will Become Online Only — Temporarily, at Least
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/goddard-college-will-become-online-only-temporarily-at-least-40012272?
1/20/24
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-05/distress-soars-at-small-us-colleges-as-enrollment-declines
Distress Soars at Small US Colleges as Enrollment Declines
Schools have broken covenants, struck deals with bondholders
Fitch sees consolidation persisting ‘in 2024 and beyond’
Bloomberg’s analysis, developed in consultation with six higher education experts, measured schools with fewer than 5,000 students across five metrics: a high acceptance rate, a low yield on offers of admission, falling enrollment, rising institutional aid and persistent operating losses. Meeting these criteria does not necessarily indicate financial distress, but schools that met more of the factors face greater challenges and will likely have a harder time investing in themselves, the experts said.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-us-higher-education-analysis/
The Economics of Small US Colleges Are Faltering
https://archive.ph/ioFwE#selection-1517.0-1517.48
There are a handful of tell-tale signs a school is facing stress. Rider University, a landmark in central New Jersey for the past 158 years, has been grappling with most of them.
The school is losing money. Over the past decade, it has lost about a fifth of its student body. And this month, the outlook for its credit rating, already below investment grade, was cut to negative.
Gregory Dell’Omo, Rider’s president, has been working hard to stabilize the university’s finances. He’s laid off staff, cut programs, even put a crown jewel, the school’s Princeton campus, on the auction block. He’s optimistic as this year’s enrollment figures have shown early signs of growth. But he’s under no illusions. The economic and demographic forces stacked against small colleges — soaring costs and a dwindling pool of applicants — are altering the American higher-education landscape before his eyes.
- THREE-YEAR AVERAGE ACCEPTANCE RATE OVER 80%
- THREE-YEAR AVERAGE YIELD
RATE BELOW 20%
- declining enrollment
- rising financial aid to students
- persistent operating losses
Fitch Ratings predicts 20 to 25 schools will close annually going forward, which is roughly double the annual average of closures at private, nonprofit four-year institutions over the last decade.
The implications of all of this are manifold. Closures threaten to disrupt the educational path of thousands of students. They also ripple through local economies as students disappear from campuses and staff and faculty lose jobs. The impact even extends to the financial system where investors hold some of the $238 billion of higher-education debt in the municipal bond market. Roughly $650 million of that is distressed or defaulted, meaning borrowers experienced an adverse event, like a missed payment or a draw on a reserve fund.
Demographics are largely to blame, as full-time undergraduate enrollment has slid from 11.5 million in 2010 to 9.5 million in 2021, according to NCES data.
At the root of the problem is a declining US birth rate in the wake of the financial crisis. From 1980 to 2007, US birth rates were largely stable, but they have since plummeted about 20%, according to national statistics.
Fewer students mean shrinking revenue streams — and colleges without investments or an endowment to fall back on will need to make changes to appeal to different kinds of students or build out new sources of income, like graduate schools.
The trend has also pushed some to offer discounts in the form of institutional aid, which can cut into their finances. The average institutional discount rate for first-time undergraduates has risen about 10 percentage points since 2013, according to an April report by the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
What’s more, the value proposition of a degree has changed. The sticker price to attend a private, four-year school is now about $41,000 a year. Students are going into debt at higher rates. And when they graduate, the wage premium their education fetches, or the pay gap between those with and without degrees, is shrinking. These issues have shaken the public’s perception of college and universities: In fact, confidence in higher-ed has fallen across all ages, education levels and political groups since 2015, according to a June Gallup poll.
Add in rising costs from elevated inflation, tumult from a global pandemic and unbridled spending trends on everything from dorms to stadiums, and the outlook appears increasingly dire for some schools.
As fewer students seek teaching degrees, universities close undergraduate programs
https://www.kentucky.com/news/business/article286863445.html
This story originally appeared on TeacherCertification.com and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Education programs at colleges across the country are in trouble. Oklahoma City University, a liberal arts college with more than 1,300 undergraduate students, has no early childhood and elementary teacher prep programs at the undergrad level. The university determined the programs to be no longer sustainable due to declining enrollment and suspended them for new students in 2020. By early 2022, only three students remained in the combined teaching programs. News about OCU's decision to suspend these programs came alongside a slate of headlines about colleges suspending or canceling education majors. Other schools such as Harvard and New Jersey City University have closed undergraduate teaching programs over the past two years. In late 2020, the University of South Florida planned to close its College of Education due to budget cuts but decided to reverse its decision in early 2021 after receiving pushback. Some universities are promoting graduate programs for those who would have been interested in an undergrad teaching program. Oklahoma City University launched a master's in education in February 2024, while Harvard encouraged undergrads leaning toward that field to pursue the school's master's program in teaching and teacher leadership.
Marquette University plans to cut $31 million by 2031
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2024/03/18/marquette-university-plans-to-cut-31-million-by-2031/73021490007/
Marquette University is planning $31 million in budget cuts over the next seven years, campus officials said in a message Monday. That represents about 7% of its current operating budget.
"This means we will need to consider our program offerings, our physical and organizational structures, and the way we do our work," the message said.
In the shorter term, Marquette plans to cut $11 million — about 2.5% of its budget — for the 2025-26 school year.
Officials also said they plan to "reinvest" over 40% of the $31 million into priorities outlined in the university's 2031 strategic plan.
In the campus message, officials said the university is facing budget challenges in part because of the need for more financial aid for students. They said nearly three-quarters of Marquette's operating revenue comes from tuition, room and board.
"Fewer traditional students are attending college, and those who do attend often need more financial and other support," they wrote.
Student enrollment at Marquette has held fairly steady, with a total of 11,373 students enrolled last fall, according to the school's data. A decade ago, enrollment was 11,745.
A March 14 report presented to the University Academic Senate detailed Marquette's budget shortfall for fiscal year 2024, which reached about $9.5 million — even after $5 million was used from the university's contingency fund.
Students, staff and faculty have all been affected by the budget shortfall, the report said.
"The cuts have decreased student research opportunities and other high-impact learning practices," the executive summary said. "They have reduced staff in important areas, and they have led faculty to take on increased advising and service roles. Other cuts have reduced support for faculty research."
But it also found that Marquette is in better shape than other colleges and universities.
"While the pending demographic changes in the years ahead may not affect Marquette University like they will smaller institutions, there will be an impact," it read. "As a result, the choice is not between making tough decisions or not. Rather, the choices are between starting the process of making these decisions now versus later, and between taking advantage of a shared governance approach in that process or not. We strongly suggest now over later and shared governance over not.”
Steering committee established to guide Marquette through cuts
The university's leadership team has asked Marquette University College of Nursing Dean Jill Guttormson and Marquette University acting general counsel Ralph Weber to lead Marquette through the changes, establishing a steering committee to help.
That committee will comprise representatives from the university's Staff Senate, Academic Senate and UFCBFP, along with additional faculty and staff and an external consultant to advise the committee. The committee's members are expected to be announced in the coming week, the message said.
Not just small colleges
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/us/university-arizona-budget-deficit.html
As U. of Arizona Confronts Budget Cuts, Workers and Students Brace for the Worst
The public university, the largest employer in the Tucson area, says it’s facing a $177 million shortfall. Critics worry that lower-tier workers and Arizona students will be hit hardest by efforts to cut back.
Deep Cuts To Faculty And Academic Programs Recommended At West Virginia University
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2023/08/12/deep-cuts-to-faculty-and-academic-programs-recommended-at-west-virginia-university
Private colleges in cities probably have an advantage, although not completely (Albany, Birmingham-Southern, UAS in Philadeplia).
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2024/06/16/pittsburgh-colleges-enrollment-decline/stories/202406100087
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