According to a recent article from the Hechinger Report, colleges have been closing at a rate of one per week. That's astounding!
Is this one reason why larger schools, state and private, experienced an increase in applications? Or, did the larger schools have more marketing and better methods to attract graduating seniors? Perhaps there are other factors as well, things more anecdotal then evidentiary. One thing is clear, there has been a consistent decline in enrollment rates since 2010 and the COVID pandemic did not help.
This report (also from Hechinger) in 2010 highlights financial warning signs for higher education. "Nearly 600 two- and four-year institutions saw their incoming fall enrollments drop more than a quarter" between 2010 and 2018. Then, COVID hit. The declines continued and the jury is still out on the 2023-2024 AY, but we know there is a cliff on the horizon due to low birth rates for the incoming freshman class (2005/2006).
As a parent of a soon-to-be college freshman, is there anything that can be done to verify the financial stability of your kid's dream school? Perhaps there are clues if one looks at the Wells College story. It is clear from the actions taken by administration that Wells College was not financially secure and people knew it. Administration re-zoned the college land and I can only assume that this was through a process within the municipality. Most rezoning from single to multi-use requires some level of approval at the town or county level and it would not be unreasonable to see something like this in local newspapers or require a public hearing. An inquiry into the local town newspaper or online news source will pull up recent requests by the dream school and may provide insight into financial standing.
Next, the Board of Trustees at Wells College signed off on the rezoning as well as the reported "transfer out" protocols that took place ahead of the closure announcement. Many articles I read for this blog indicated that administrators directed school personnel, academic advisors perhaps, to create transfer plans for current students. While many students are being picked up by nearby Mahattanville University it is unclear how many were provided guidance or a plan prior to the closure announcement. Personally, I find it unfathomable that academic advisors, and most likely faculty, did not catch wind of the pending doom based on transfer discussions.
Additionally, alumni were kept out of the loop of the financial status. Wells College was founded by the founder of Wells Fargo as a private, seminary, then an all-women's school until 2004 when it became co-ed, liberal arts college. During this time, a long list of alumni and prominent individuals like Laura Nader, the first tenured female faculty in Anthropology at UC-Berkeley, and Mary Beckerle, famed cell biologist working on Ewings Sarcoma at the University of Utah Huntsman Center. While the college addresses this on their website, many wonder if money could have been raised to keep the doors open at Wells. When visiting campuses, check to see if there are announcements of endowments received, valuable (think money) partnerships with prominent businesses or individuals or has the school received any grants, state/federal funding for programs or other contributions where donors would be harmed by the school closing.
Finally, schools with accreditation are likely to indicate financial pitfalls earlier than those without accrediting bodies. Wells College had been on probation until early 2021 when the Middle States Commission on Higher Education reinstated prior status after extensive work by the institution. Part of the reason for probation? "The primary areas that were addressed were related to having adequate financial and human resources to sustain operations, budget planning and institutional improvement" according to the report. Ultimately, larger schools, state or public, are less likely to close compare to the smaller, private schools. Larger schools receive greater sums of money from wealthy alumni or community donors and can pay competitive salaries, thus maintaining a robust faculty and administration for public recognition and prominent reputation. However, schools serving niche markets like aviation or culinary are likely to merge with other schools before closing and leaving students in a lurch.
My ultimate recommendation when investigating schools? Pick up the local newspaper, review the Board of Trustee meeting notes, search the school website for accreditation seals/status and pay attention to the marketing surrounding the school in the last year. All of this is public information and easily accessible online or when visiting the school, talk to the students and locals in the city or town. Not only will you get an idea of the stability of the school, but it's good to learn the culture of the area.
Need assistance with researching colleges and programs for your soon-to-be freshman? Drop me a note or fill out the contact sheet to set up a free consultation.
My email: tiffany@aspeneducationalplanning.com
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