Good money after bad. Not that I begrudge Troutman Sanders their day in court/payday. An entering class of zero freshman- so they lose even if they win.
aren’t they unaccredited though?
Antioch I believe will receive their accreditation this summer
I suppose the silver lining in all of this is the important lessons this closing teaches other colleges around the country; in short, never become complacent. Stubbornly adhering to tradition amidst a changing market simply doesn’t work for colleges that don’t have adequate demand. And demand (or lack thereof) is really the key failure of Sweet Briar. The school was aware of the dwindling interest over the years but instead of taking the bold/difficult move necessary to adapt to a changing market, went with the safe/easy route.
“Just one complaint to your bio department … from PETA … [and] your legal bills will skyrocket in a nanosecond.”
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One complaint? I don’t believe the legal system is the avenue of first resort for PETA.
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Is PETA seriously being suggested as a plausible threat to small colleges?
If the small college has a bio or psych department which (like most) uses animals then yes. Peta is a plausible threat.
Are they really? Don’t they have to lure applicants with full tuition rebates. I know they started small with 35 students and had one “banner” year when a couple of thousands kicked the tires and submitted an application -with the laughable result that Antioch was among the most selective schools in the nation. As far as I know that number of applications has dwindled and the school is hoping to reach a freshman class of 200 for what should be the last year of free tuition.
The accreditation is probably irrelevant to avoiding a fifth closing. Or has it been five already. I do not think that sensible people would like to spend real dollars on tuition at that place. But there will always be romantics with more cents than sense.
Randolph College has gained enrollment the last 3 years after a couple tough years right after going coed. I think enrollment has gone from about 500 at the worst to about 700 now and the entering class was the largest yet at over 200. Still a battle but seems to be trending well.
http://www.randolphcollege.edu/news/2014/08/randolph-welcomes-new-students/
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t @Hunt referring to Randolph-Macon College? Or is your post, @barrons, independent from that earlier comment?
Momzie–“The town of Lynchburg apparently once had that ritzy Lily Pulitzer sort of vibe but now it is more like a depressed and depressing part of Appalachia. It is not at all quaint and cutesy. Staunton where Mary Baldwin is is much nicer.”
You could not be more wrong. There are two very large nuke companies here (AREVA and B&W) each with several thousand highly paid employees. LU has expanded the college vibe from Randolph and Lynchburg colleges. Losing SBC hurts a bit but it was well outside the town however it was good for biz and most faculty and staff lived in L. Liberty has added considerable very high quality shows and sports as well as employing 2000 and adding lots of income to the area as well as 1000s of new housing units off campus. Downtown has undergone enough rehab and new restaurants and lofts to be cutesy. There is a great stock of grand older historic homes that have sold to restorers and now look great. I recently had a guest in from Boston and showed him around and he was impressed by the great homes and estates (and the 5 Starbucks). To see the non Appalachia neighborhood where I live just look at some photos. No rundown homes in my hood.
http://www.virginiasweetpea.com/2014/10/historic-homes-tour-lynchburg-va.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=historic+districts+of+lynchburg+homes+photos&biw=1920&bih=955&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Ujn-VPXzCsacyAS8joL4Dw&ved=0CB0QsAQ
Here’s one of the nicer homes near Randolph that recently sold and is undergoing total interior rehab. The suburbs are full of beautiful newer homes on large lots and estates in the rolling hills. Lynchburg is a real hidden gem just being discovered
http://www.virginiaestates.com/property/CAARResDetails.asp?pref=510436&realtor=
You are wrong. Randolph College is the former RMWC–all female. Now coed. They have horses too. Horses are very big in Virginia outside the the DC area. They have huge horse shows and facilities throughout central Va… There are several major showplaces.
And hunt clubs
http://charlottesvilleequestrianproperties.com/virginia-fox-hunting-clubs/
Aren’t these distinct colleges?
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Randolph College, Lynchburg, Virginia
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Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia. And isn’t this the one formerly known as Randolph-Macon Woman’s College?
NO, Randolph was RMWC. RMC still exists and never was all female.
Maybe we should put a moratorium on colleges named “Randolph”.
Or add it to the “baby names we hate” thread 
Just when I’ve got them down? No way.
Btw, not sure why I had to read through a blunt, “You are wrong,” and a capitalized, “NO,” when I asked for local clarification on these colleges …
You get what you pay for. Blunt kinda guy–but know my stuff. And I live within a mile of Randolph College.
Maybe you should have studied up on the history of small Virginia all-women’s colleges. Even a small child or an infant knows the difference between Randolph Macon Women’s College (also known as Randolph College), vs. Randolph Macon College (which, OK, might actually be Randolph College, hmm… no, I’m pretty sure it’s just the first one).
I went to college in VA and I was surprised at how many public stables were there for people with horses to keep them if they couldn’t keep them on campus.
(I didn’t know that there were horse hunt clubs though; it seems somewhat unsporting to “hunt” a docile domesticated animal that sees you as a friend but I suppose it’s a cultural thing… 
)
As far as Antioch, their story could be seen as a way out for Sweet Briar since they too were ‘saved’ at least in part as a result of some kind of alumni rescue plan. I’m not sure if this is similar enough to it and Antioch’s future is still kind of gloomy in my opinion but they ARE a College That Changes Lives…