<p>Hi! I just recently heard about Antioch College and how they're offering a free education to the entering Class of 2014 to help get the college back on its feet. I love Antioch's philosophy on education, but everything seems so sketchy... I'm an idealist, but I'm worried about enrolling if accepted. Can any current students speak to life at Antioch? There are obvious pros and cons... I'm just struggling a bit between my beliefs and fear of a bad experience/closing of the school</p>
<p>A little background for those unfamiliar with Antioch; does anyone have any updates on this reconstruction of the school?</p>
<p>Antioch News</p>
<p>Release Date: June 12, 2007</p>
<p>Antioch College Suspends Operations to Design 21st Century Campus
State-of-the-Art Campus projected to open in 2012
YELLOW SPRINGS, OH- On June 9, 2007, Antioch University’s Board of Trustees voted to suspend operations on July 1, 2008 of Antioch College, the University’s undergraduate residential program in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with the intention of reopening a state-of-the art campus.</p>
<p>The Chancellor will establish a Design and Development Commission to determine the long-term future of the College with the intention of opening a re-developed undergraduate campus. An Academic Design Team will be appointed to design a new undergraduate curriculum reflecting the College’s strong traditions and values while meeting the needs of today’s students.</p>
<p>The College will continue to serve its current and newly accepted students with a strong academic program for the 2007-08 academic year.</p>
<p>For the 2008-09 academic year, all students will be offered degree completion opportunities at Antioch University McGregor which is moving to a new facility in Yellow Springs in September, 2007. In addition to the McGregor opportunity, students who have successfully completed the first two years of their bachelor’s degree will be offered reasonable opportunities to complete their degree at Antioch University’s other degree completion programs in Seattle, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. Students wishing to transfer to other colleges and universities based on the requirements of the other institutions will be assisted in doing so.</p>
<p>Over the past several years, Antioch College has experienced a continuing decline in its</p>
<p>student enrollment. Given its small endowment and heavy dependence on tuition revenue, this low enrollment has threatened the College’s survival. Efforts to balance the College’s budget over the years through faculty and staff reductions, programmatic changes and deferred maintenance of the physical plant have eroded the confidence students and parents have in the College’s academic program. After careful analysis the Board determined that the College’s resources are inadequate to continue providing a quality education for its students beyond July 1, 2008.</p>
<p>The College’s low enrollment and lack of adequate funding led to the decision to suspend operations and declare financial exigency as required by the faculty personnel policy.</p>
<p>About Antioch University: The University is founded on the principles of a rigorous liberal arts education, innovative experiential learning and socially engaged citizenship. These campuses all nurture in their students the knowledge, skills and habits of reflection to act as lifelong learners, democratic leaders and global citizens who live lives of meaning and purpose.</p>
<p>In addition to the College, Antioch University is comprised of five nonresidential campuses in Keene, NH; Yellow Springs, OH; Seattle, WA and Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, CA, all accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. These campuses attract students wishing to complete BA degrees, seek graduate degrees and/or prepare for new careers.</p>
<p>This second piece comes from the College’s website and is more recent:</p>
<p>Antioch College continues campus renovations; two buildings to be removed
YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio— Antioch College has announced that it will demolish two buildings on campus. The College’s Board of Trustees has approved the demolition of Mills Hall, a former dormitory, and the Student Union. This decision comes after a recommendation from the College’s architectural firm, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc. (MCF). The College has been working with MCF on a campus master plan for more than a year.</p>
<p>Mills Hall</p>
<p>The College will be removing asbestos and other environmental hazards from Mills Hall prior to the demolition so that these hazards are not released into the atmosphere. This preparatory work will begin in early November 2013 and it is expected that the building will be down and all rubble removed by the end of the month.</p>
<p>The College received a $42,000 grant to partially fund the asbestos removal in Mills Hall. In addition to structural damage and deterioration of Mills, small room sizes, narrow corridors, undersized restrooms and the lack of elevators make conversion to modern accessibility requirements exorbitantly expensive. Further, a lack of community space, kitchen space, and older construction with minimal insulation and single-pane windows made its conversion into a green building highly unlikely.</p>
<p>“We expect that many alumni and friends will have a number of fond memories of these buildings,” notes President Mark Roosevelt. “However, as mindful as we are of our rich heritage, the new and better ways in which we are articulating the college experience at Antioch require us to make bold, informed decisions about our campus to make it both viable and sustainable in the 21st century.”</p>
<p>Mills was originally erected in 1959</p>
<p>Student Union</p>
<p>The Student Union was built in 1957 and housed generations of Antioch students, as well as the Antioch Inn, for over 50 years. Over time, however, and through the College’s closure, the building has deteriorated to a point where its structural integrity and functional usability are significantly undermined by the existence of extensive mold, asbestos, and large roof leaks that have resulted in extensive damage within the building.</p>
<p>Consulation with the College’s architects revealed that renovation of the Union would require new windows, new roofing, new heating and cooling systems, and significant reconfiguration of interior space to meet current accessibility requirements. Therefore, it was concluded by both the architects and the Board of Trustees that the cost to renovate the Student Union to a usable state would be prohibitive and demolition was recommended and approved.</p>
<p>The College is currently researching grant opportunities to fund the asbestos removal and demolition expense. As a result, no date has yet been set for environmental hazard removal or demolition of the Student Union.</p>
<p>The building will be altered slightly in the meantime to accommodate fire safety regulations recommended by the Yellow Springs fire chief. The “Transient Mode Home” signage on the front of the union will be saved and placed in Antiochiana. </p>
<p>Plans are currently under discussion about how to best commemorate the Student Union for alumni and friends prior to its demolition.</p>
<p>MEDIA CONTACT:
Nicole Wroten-Craw
Assistant Director of Communications
937-776-2966
<a href="mailto:nwroten@antiochcollege.org">nwroten@antiochcollege.org</a></p>
<p>And here briefly is the plan for the future. I include these here because the Antioch College forum is not very busy.</p>
<p><a href=“http://antiochcollege.org/sites/default/files/pdf/strategicPlan/Final_AC2020_Board%20approved_May%202012.pdf”>http://antiochcollege.org/sites/default/files/pdf/strategicPlan/Final_AC2020_Board%20approved_May%202012.pdf</a></p>
<p>@jkeil911 thanks for the articles! </p>
<p>look elsewhere. </p>
<p>I might take a chance on this if I were young again. They are in the process of gaining accreditation and are part of the Great Lakes College Association - the other member schools have agreed to accept Antioch College credits should a student wish to transfer. Albion College and Kalamazoo College are both excellent schools, there are some others in there too. <a href=“http://glca.org/our-colleges”>http://glca.org/our-colleges</a></p>