This is not good news. :(. I think Hampshire is a great school for a specific kind of student. I hope this can be worked out.
https://www.hampshire.edu/news/2019/01/15/important-message-from-president-nelson
Thanks for sharing, that is concerning. On the positive side, being part of the Five College consortium might provide several natural avenues for partnership. Will be interesting to see what develops, and if alums step up giving in order to increase the endowment.
“…carefully considering whether to enroll an in coming class in Fall.”
It is about time. Tough to figure out why this school existed. Lots of rich kids enjoying experimenting with various substances.
I disagree with that (and never had a kid apply, so have no personal investment). Hampshire has a history of getting students engaged and invested in their own learning journey. It only appeals to a certain kind of student. I guarantee you that there are colleges widely recommended on these boards that have drug issues and you may not be as aware (I can think of 5 right off hand, but it would start an argument, so I won’t list). Just because they have a different academic model doesn’t make them a haven for substance abuse, or worse than other schools I’ve seen you recommend.
Clearly, you are unfamiliar with the realities of Hampshire College.
It is about time. Possibly had the highest attrition rate among any college with a recognizable name.
Wow @Publisher that could not be more incorrect. That school has created so many new avenues of research, it’s graduated artists and authors that have made large differences in the world, produced entrepreneurs with new ways of doing business. It’s one of the top producers of Ph.D. candidates – why? Because they start Day 1 working on research problems that most people don’t see until they are at the Masters level. It is NOT a campground for wealthy kids but rather the students I’ve known who have attended and who have graduated from there have not been wealthy and yet they have courageously gone forward to change their respective fields. Courage is the correct word. They don’t graduate “excellent sheep” that do cookie cutter things and that’s the point of the school. The point is to think and act with courage to do the things that aren’t usually recognized as valuable – and the world sometimes takes a little while to wake up to the new system developed by Hampshire grads.
It’s an amazing school that continues to surprise people.
And what was the attrition rate ?
Hampshire College was a joke.
Just concerned with anyone who has it in on the table for next year. It has a real niche and is often mentioned on CC for students looking for an active social justice orientation.
Well there is always UNC-Asheville, but that school has almost a 25% attrition rate.
Wow. Thats a lot. Perhaps kids take a year off and come back. Or they find it’s too much freedom and they transfer for more structure. 25% is way too high.
Hampshire’s attrition was even higher.
Hampshire has been struggling for years to attract and then to keep students.
Wow. Hopefully they find a partner school for the students still there finishing their degrees.
What students ?
Antioch College in Ohio went under as well. Antioch students were, however, serious about social justice.
Was not intended to be impolite. Hampshire College had a great deal of difficulty attracting students, keeping students & in getting students to attend class.
The history of the school is interesting, and maybe pertinent re: potentially finding a partner and/or solution within the Five College Consortium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampshire_College
The list of notable alums is impressive, considering the small size of the school
The problem is that the school just didn’t retain, much less graduate, many students. And, it had a great deal of difficulty in attracting students. Accordingly, almost anyone, or maybe even everyone, who applied & could afford to pay the tuition was admitted. And there was no need to attend class as the school could not afford to lose any paying student. None of this was a secret.
^^^^ From collegefactual:
Not Amherst’s numbers, but well above average.
In addition, though it’s known primarily as an arty school, it’s really too bad, as it happens to be one of the top producing colleges of students who go on to earn Ph.D.s – and many of them have broken open their fields in the sciences. This is because of the paradigm, IMHO where they start early doing research from new angles. Hampshire tends to test what others take for granted. They test the assumptions. In so doing, IMO the students find that those assumptions don’t always hold up. That person then changes the paradigm. Hampshire takes a lot of flack because it does things differently. You have to understand the value of doing things differently to find the value of Hampshire.
In an era where everything is becoming standardized (standardized testing = standardized learning such as the trend toward more and more AP classes) It’s no wonder that Hampshire has been less popular. Doing the standardized thing will gain you predictable results–and that’s valuable, especially in the wake of an economic downturn – but it rarely brings greatness. Greatness requires making mistakes, trying new things, failing sometimes.
Apple computers wouldn’t be here if Microsoft hadn’t bailed it out in 1997. Remember? Sometimes great experimental things require bail outs. There’s no shame in that. The shame is when people are afraid of taking chances and trying new things.