Just pointing out that Vermont would be able to have a single system and still offer courses at satellite campuses. Vermont is physically much smaller than Wyoming. Vermont recently cut down on the number of majors and departments it offers at the main campus. Maybe if it had satellite campuses some students could be served at those and maybe a unique major could be offered there? Maybe better than closing 3+ colleges and losing those students or requiring them to move to Burlington?
2 Likes
The problem with turning the other VT state universities into branches of UVM apparently is political, since UVM does not want to take them over as branch campuses, based on post #631 of this thread.
Well New Hampshire could be an example that Vermont might follow if that state merges all its state universities and community colleges. UVM needs to stop dreaming it’s an Ivy school as seen by the last year they don’t have the resources to run independently from the state.
Isn’t Wisconsin merging their tech campuses with the UW campuses? Lots of public university consolidation
https://edmit.me/college/mills-college-california/
According to this (Edmit), Mills College actually had a Forbes rating of C+ and an endowment of $196.4M. Edmit gives them a financial health score of “Medium”. Honestly, I really think this is something to consider when looking at colleges.
2 Likes
Yeah, I was very (to say the least) skeptical of the Forbes grades when they initially came out, but I’ve warmed up to it.
Becker College in Worcester, MA to close.
I just heard that Clark is picking up Becker’s video game design program. Sorry no link for this - it was just word of mouth.
edited to add a link:
https://www.wbjournal.com/article/after-beckers-closing-clark-to-absorb-game-design-esports-programs
4 Likes
A longish interesting column in the Chronicle of Higher Education this week for those following this thread, titled Why Doomsday Hasn’t Happened, on how few colleges have ended up closing due to the pandemic, despite predictions a year ago—including from the author of the column, as he admits early on in it. (8 to 14 colleges have closed each year for the past several years. 2020 was spot-on average, with 11.)
I’m pretty sure it’s paywalled, but the main thrust of the piece comes through in this paragraph early on:
But the sky didn’t fall, at least not for everyone. As in broader society, the pandemic disproportionately affected lower-income and minority people. Community colleges, which often serve those populations, saw enrollments drop steeply. But many four-year institutions lost relatively few students. State tax bases proved more resilient than expected. While the pandemic has had a significant and quite likely lasting impact on colleges, it hasn’t proved to be the financial disaster widely anticipated a year ago.
The reasons for the lack of widespread higher-ed disaster are given as (these are the section headings in the column):
- Billions in federal relief {plus public revenue in most states being stronger than expected}
- Layoffs and pay cuts {that is, cutting expenses; about 13%—a decade’s worth of employment growth—of those directly employed by higher-ed lost their jobs, plus losses from third-party vendors}
- Risks and rewards {meaning choices about whether to bring students back in person or not, which seemed to work out no matter which choice was made, except for the steep enrollment losses seen at community colleges}
- A buyer’s market for students {students are still eager to go to college, and colleges, especially lower-prestige ones, have recognized the need to pitch themselves more strongly, and so have beefed up those efforts}
The column closes by saying the higher-ed sector isn’t fully out of the woods yet and there are still a lot of unknowns presenting high risk (plus the known risk presented by the looming 2025 “demographic cliff” of high-school graduates), but there are grounds for cautious optimism at both the sector-wide and individual-institution levels.
4 Likes
Too early to tell plus closing isn’t the same as layoffs, hiring freezes, and offering deeper discounts on tuition. Eventually it catches-up. I’ll be curious to see if consolidation becomes more popular.
I agree. It’s too early to tell. There was A LOT of federal money given to small schools, which are the most likely to be on the brink. And the employees who took pay cuts will expect to get their pay cut reversed at some point.
Northeastern University and Mills College to form “strategic alliance”.
Northeastern University and Mills College to pursue historic partnership - News @ Northeastern
“Through our proposed alliance, we will sustain the granting of degrees on the Mills campus under the name Mills College at Northeastern University. All students currently enrolled at Mills College will have the option to continue and graduate from Mills, or apply to transfer to Northeastern at no additional cost. All existing financial aid commitments made to current Mills’ students will be honored by Northeastern. We will also establish together the Mills Institute, a hub for research and advocacy that will advance women’s leadership, equity, inclusion, and social justice.”
@dfbdfb
2 Likes
I read the link but I wonder why NEU is doing this.
1 Like
A physical presence in the booming Bay Area perhaps. Northeastern has a similar alliance with New College of the Humanities in London, although Northeastern owns that school.
1 Like
In Boston? NEU was inundated with transfer apps this cycle (kids are still waiting for their decisions and rejections are plentiful) and they’re looking to bring more kids onto the Boston campus?
And will NEU pay to run the school? They’ll take apps for new classes going forward ? Or they’re just floating this last class until they graduate?
Whatever they do I am certain that Northeastern will not operate the Mills campus at a loss.
Looking at the Mills College map there is plenty of room for new high tech development.
Here is Mills announcement. The Mills campus will become “gender inclusive” at all levels.
Announcement | Mills College
1 Like
The opportunity to acquire a university presence with a sizeable campus in the Bay Area will likely pay great dividends to NEU. With its robust co-op program, having a foothold there will only enhance the opportunities NEU can provide its students.
I predict NEU will eventually fully buy out MC an open a NEU West Campus, undergo significant building additions, and great increase the MC campus enrollment to at least 8K. I would not be surprised at all to discover NEU has an option to purchase with first refusal rights.
5 Likes
From what I’ve read, if this deal goes through Northeastern will own the campus. “Strategic alliance” is a vague term used on purpose.
5 Likes
I am not sure I would say 350 students would be considered a full recovery. 
Silver Lining found! Most of the college closings of the last few years have been for-profit colleges.
“Closures of for-profit colleges and universities accounted for about three-quarters of the 579 institutions that disappeared over that 3-year period.”
9 Likes
Yale-NUS college will be merged into NUS. Sad to see the partnership ending
1 Like