Seems like the best place to put this. Fontbonne University in Clayton, MO, a private Catholic institution founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1923 announced on Monday they are shutting their doors at the end of the 2025 school year. Declining enrollment. If you recall, a college in West Virginia closed in the last year or two, and a college in Illinois announced in 2023 they are closing. Tough times for all schools but especially these smaller private ones. Fontbonne’s enrollment had dropped below 1000. Fontbonne’s men’s basketball team made the D3 Tournament this year and lost in the second round. Washington University, immediately north of Fontbonne, will buy the entire 16 acre Fontbonne campus. Washington University’s endowment is 12.5 billion dollars, so they can afford it.
Didn’t College of Notre Dame in Ohio just announce it was closing, too? Iowa Wesleyan - where Mike Leach invented his Air Raid offense - closed the year before last.
Yes, Notre Dame Ohio closes after this semester. It is a tough time to be a church affiliated small private school. Tough time for all schools.
One reason I’ve wanted the MAC to expand is because I’m not sure every MAC school will survive for another 20 years. There were rumors swirling a few years ago that Akron might be acquired by Cleveland St and turned into a satellite campus. I haven’t heard anything recently, but Akron did cut baseball while working to sort their budget out. Can EMU survive? Their endowment is under $100MM. Same with NIU.
It would be significant national news if large state-assisted universities started shuttering their doors. I can see some deciding to deemphasize athletics, though.
I believe several schools in the PSAC combined to form a larger school, as well.
IIRC everything in the western half of the PSAC is now a campus of “PennWest.”
EDIT: I’m not quite right. Edinboro, Clarion, and California are now Pennsylvania Western University. Each is a separate campus of a sngle system. They no longer have individual university identities for branding purposes, and they’re referred to as “PennWest Edinboro,” etc. for athletics purposes in the PSAC.
Meanwhile, Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield are now the single Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, but confusingly, each of them does maintain a separate identity for branding purposes only. So while it’s just three campuses of CUP for legal purposes, they still show up in marketing as Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, etc.
The other PSAC schools remain separate.
Sounds very Pennsylvaniaish to me.
And like clockwork, this comes out.
Miami looks in pretty good shape. What I find puzzling is that despite larger enrollment, higher tuition and more out of state kids, Miami takes in less tuition dollars per year than it did in 2001. That seems like some massive discounting beyond merely scholarships which I believe still get booked as tuition revenue.
Demographics would indicate a key stimulus for replenishment of a supply of college age students rests with immigration. Without immigration, Ohio’s and the nation’s population will continue to atrophy.
Hopefully, our ability to attract foreign students will rebound from the COVID triggered drop off. Foreign students rarely receive tuition discounts.
I have often thought that Ohio seems to have an over abundance of public universities as compared to other states. This would seem to spread limited budget dollars even thinner. With decreasing enrollment does it even make sense for Ohio to have so many public institutions of higher learning? Yes I am suggesting that some of these universities be closed or consolidate. But my opinion also assumes that Miami will not be one of those affected. If I knew that Miami would be downsized, I might have a different opinion😎
My grad Alma mater, IUP, is one of the stronger schools in the PSAC, as far as academics, and they’ve been in a building spree much like Miami. They even built a new basketball arena!
I’m from Sharon, PA. Mercer County. Lots of my high school friends went to Clarion, Edinboro, Westminster, etc.
Given what appear to be dire financial straits most Ohio universities appear to be in, including Miami with potentially 18 programs on the chopping block, might a re-evaluation of the viability of athletics also be in the offing? Bare in mind I think athletics are an integral part of the college experience, and I would be opposed to any cuts, diminution, dropping down of conferences etc, I could see it happening. If Miami is looking at programs that don’t bring in money, does that include athletics? Rather than talking of expanding facilities for athletics (Millett full gut rehab or new facility) might the BOT decide not only aren’t we spending on that, we are going to tighten the purse strings. Just throwing that out there. Again, I am opposed to this but could see it at least being discussed. Especially given the rather abysmal student support as a whole for athletics at Miami. Perhaps a reason for students to start getting their asses to the seats.
Tuition is a competitive market place right now. Going to college is a lot like buying a car. Negotiate your best price and then see who will match or beat it.
I believe it’s been an intentional strategy by Miami to discount tuition to maintain strong enrollment in order to keep the student fee revenue strong, especially for the housing and dining sector that incurred a lot of debt over the last decade remodeling nearly every dorm and dining facility on campus while interest rates were low.
Im not sure there is a sport Miami could cut that would incur a massive student outcry/protest
Actually what Miami has done the last couple years is lock in tuition. So whatever you pay your freshman year you will pay every year you are at Miami. As someone paying out of state tuition, that was gladly accepted!
They also discount the tuition rate using “scholarships”.
Some people, like those in the Honors College, earned those scholarships.
Never said anyone didn’t earn their scholarships. Even those who negotiated a scholarhip out of Miami to reduce their tuition still earned it. I simply used quotations around the word to differentiate that while Miami may call it a scholarship it’s not a scholarship in the traditional sense, it’s just a discount.