A friend posted this link on Facebook.
This could be the first of many. I’m surprised they moved forward with a $9 million library renovation project while they were barely surviving, and didn’t sell off some of the 3,600 acres they owned - especially considering they only needed room for only 650 students.
Particularly sad for the juniors. That’s a tough position to have to transfer senior year.
Oops, sorry, there was already a thread started. Maybe the moderators can merge the two or add the link from IHE?
I think we’ll be seeing more LACs closing in the coming years. Neither demographics nor economics are particularly encouraging for these institutions.
Alumnae and parents of current students seem shocked over on the SBC Facebook page. Hat tip to the nearby schools (Mary Baldwin, Hollins, Lynchburg so far) who have announced that they will work with the SBC students currently enrolled. @arabrab is right, to be a junior thinking you are nearly done with your major requirements and preparing to work on your thesis and then have the rug pulled out from you has got to be awful.
I feel for current students, new admits, alums and their families. Like others here, I see this as an issue for many LACs and expect SBC will provide good case study material.
Stunning announcement against a backdrop of several recent large building initiatives. Is this a Catch-22 for schools who feel they can’t attract students without amenities and yet they can’t afford the extras without the students?
All the best to those who are directly impacted and gratitude that other schools are stepping up.
Well, I was shocked when I received a “breaking news” alert from Inside Higher Ed. And the fact that they have such an in-depth story out so soon after the announcement makes me think they must have been tipped off early and embargoed the story until it was formally announced by the college. Reads kind of like a pre-drafted obituary:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/03/03/sweet-briar-college-will-shut-down
I’m guessing there are a lot of Virginia colleges and universities salivating over that $94 million endowment. I wonder how the assets will be distributed?
They should have been able to achieve a more orderly transition, considering they reported a $94 million endowment last year and had 3,600 acres of land. Their campus is within commuting distance of the Charlottesville area, where there is a huge demand for large houses on 10 to 20 acre estates in scenic areas.
With only 650 students, that is a huge endowment per student, unless they blew it all in the last year. At a minimum, they should have been able to find a partner college that would accept them as a branch, or used their resources to help current students graduate on time.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Fallwell’s Liberty University buys them out. They are rapidly growing, and are based in nearby Lynchburg.
In the past, some for-profits bought failing private colleges, so they could take advantage of their accredition to scoop up federal pell grants and loans, and to turn the college into a diploma mill.
I hope the nearby Virginia colleges have room for all of the horses of the Sweetbriar students when they transfer.
I’m not sure how Sweet Briar alumnae would feel about the endowment going to a school like Liberty. Hopefully, it will go to another liberal arts college or university.
Selling the campus is a separate issue. A sale to Liberty would make a lot of sense.
Here’s an interesting reaction:
https://www.hollins.edu/news/president-grays-statement-closing-sweet-briar-college/
Hmmmm. They could have at least let the body cool a bit.
In my state, the Attorney General’s office gets involved with transfer of funds out of an endowment fund to another charitable entity so I think there are some legal protections built in to the process.
@Hunt and @Youdon’tsay, I see your point. I interpreted that statement as Hollins’ attempt to reassure its current students and alumnae that Hollins is not in immediate danger of suffering the same fate as Sweet Briar.
Other than location (Hollins is in suburban Roanoke, while SBC is rural) and the financials, the two schools have a great deal in common. A student who chose SBC would probably find Hollins or Mary Baldwin the closest match of the schools that have offered to take SBC students and help them graduate on time.
Sure, I think that was the intention. The response, for me, was just a little quick and comes across a tad harsh.
SBC and Hollins were traditionally rivals, though, weren’t they? The SBC alumnae might be happier with a dispersal of their assets to a school they weren’t traditionally in direct competition with. It looks like they’re part of a consortium with Lynchburg College and Randolph College, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re already in discussions with either or both and perhaps a few other schools.
Randolph which just avoided the same fate by going coed will likely get some of the students and future students. I too see LU as a player for the campus as it is too far from C’Ville to commute for most. It is close enough to Lynchburg which is growing pretty fast too. A new freeway puts SB just minutes from LU. Very sad news though.
How sad for everyone who loves this college. I had a memorable tour there with a fellow counselor in August. It wouldn’t have been a fit for me, but I was impressed with the level of satisfaction of the students I met. Gorgeous campus, too. It would make a terrific horseback-riding resort.
This is a shock and is very sad. Friends are alumnae of Sweet Briar College. What’s the rush to shut down? Could it be a tactic to instigate proposals from big fish and power brokers ( more than one diplomat and well-heeled foreign national has sent a daughter to Sweet Briar College) to come to the rescue? Barrons is correct, commuting from Charlottesville would be quite a haul and undesirable for most.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/03/03/sweet-briar-college-will-shut-down
Maybe it’s just me, but I find this shocking, even as someone who’s worked for organizations that were forced to merge or die.
I used to work with a Sweet Briar grad, and this is not the type of school I would have expected to fold in 2015. No talk of mergers or admitting men–just shuttering its doors with an endowment of $94 million.