This Week In College Viability (TWICV)

It is the July 1, 2024 This Week in College Viability podcast. Here are the leading stories. + Layoffs, cutbacks, and closures + More FAFSA Debacle reports + Bradley U gets a College Viabilitystar for being forthright and honest.  It’s faculty does not get to share the award. + Why so many colleges are closing now - and what it means for students ( A WSJ / Marketwatch story that quoted yours truly...

If you bring Thom Chesney onto your podcast, you get to ask some aggressive questions. Here are some Dr. Chesney addressed: What is on the minds of private college governing boards? Will the 'one-college-closure-per-week' trend continue? Why do so few people seem to know the most important information about a college's future prospects? When will we hit the 'tipping point' when students and their...

Ashley Kern founded Sightline (sightlinedata.com) to bring an individualized data science focus for colleges.   Ms. Kern discusses: Data enterpreneurs in higher ed and their impact The FAFSA Debacle The Sightline niche Market analysis services  Using data to improve graduation rates SightLine is a nationally certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB).

It's not often we get to look inside a college closure.  Jay Keehn lived it at Union Institute and University. Dr. Keehn was at Union Institute and University fro 18 years until he left in 2023.  Like Jonathon Nichols with his book Requiem for a College and his experience at the closure of St. Joseph's College (IN), Jay Keehn takes us through the chronic mis-information shared at Union Institute a...

This week's top headlines:   + Cash is King at Lindenwood University + Do protests really impact enrollment that much?   Emerson College says it does. + U Arts (PA) closure is still a mess +  Ryan Craig:  The Financial Responsibility Emperor Has No Clothes    +  College sports is not a cure-all for enrollment and finances Concordia Ann Arbor is eliminating them all. It is very difficult to see a s...

An important group of higher education leaders with a diverse set of experiences weigh in on the potential of a federal bailout of private colleges this Fall and the impact it would have on higher education. The participants are Ricardo Azziz, Joe Sallustion, Sarah Holtan, and Brian Rosenberg. Bios are below. Some of the questions addressed by the panel: 1.  Is a federal bailout of colleges a viab...

We are entering the hot weather season  -- and the really hot seat season for colleges. There is increasing anecdotal evidence that the FAFSA debacle will cause much trauma this Fall and Spring.  I am starting to see a small number of colleges take what I am going to call ‘proactive layoffs and cutbacks’. This week: + Philadelphia’s University of the Arts is taking some real heat for its really sh...

Dean Hoke, President and CEO of the American Association of University Administrators joins me for a special episode of TWICV. Some of the questions we cover include: 1.  Dean's vision for up and coming higher education leaders 2.  He discusses the 'triple witch' of circumstances facing colleges. 3.  I ask Dean about the differences in leadership of short-notice closed colleges and those who gave...

Here are the headlines for the June 10, 2024 TWICV podcast. Columbia College (IL) in the news again with a final layoff announcement College Enrollment Up For Second Semester In A Row, Finds New Report GS:  I will tell you why that is misleading. Tuition discounts at private nonprofit colleges reach new highs, study finds U Arts (Philly) another really short-notice closure Send me questions, comme...

Here are the headlines from the May 20, 2024 episode +  3 colleges in the cutbacks, layoffs, and closure list + 3 Missouri privates don’t respond well to being on a ‘watch list’ + The abrupt closure of Wells College.  Bad for the industry. . .  +  Student loan interest rates go up – a lot on July 1st. +  NY rep introduces bill to establish rules for a college seeking to close. (That always works)...

A look at St. Cloud State’s plan to cut 46 degrees i-dotters and t-crossers High Schools are bracing for widespread teacher layoffs. Here’s why Spin. Spin. Spin. At Illinois Tech STL PD and college closures in its region Cleveland .com:  Editor: Buffoonery, incompetence and lies      “Our job, though, is to call them out. So, we do.” Show note links: ‘A matter of right-sizing’: A look at St. Cloud...

On a busy closing and cutback week, my news and commentary this week includes: Keystone College (PA) in trouble Alverno College (WI) cutsback Wells closes.  Sends students to a college that is all financially weak. Northland College continues to string along its faculty, staff, students, and community Talk of a catastrophic Fall continues 200 NCAA DIII teams no longer exist Drake U Board cuts the...

These are the news and commentary headlines for April 29, 2024 ·         Northland College (WI) just can’t find anyone to turn of the light switch. ·         A really good student-written article about Drake U’s financial challenges ·         Dubuque named and Spalding searching for new presidents.  We will go to the data for both. ·         Jon Marcus at Hechinger had one of his stories picked up...

In this special edition of 'This Week in College Viability' we hear from an alum of a college that is clearly in significant financial trouble. Jeremy Lakosh is a 2005 graduate of Eureka College (IL).  He is the CEO of a retirement community in Eureka and has spent 6-years on the Eureka Alumni Board - and led the group for 2 years. Mr. Lakosh's story is one of both conviction and supporting data t...

The April 22nd episode includes these news stories and commentary HLC says: ‘We are not hospice’ What happens to faculty, staff, students and the community when a college closes The Boston Globe must be reading and listening to my content.  They talk about the right way to close a college. Webster University auditors have concerns about the university’s ability to continue as a going concern. Addi...

This week top stories include: ·         Why are financial statement auditors not giving us a heads-up on trouble colleges?  I will share the results of my research on recently closed colleges and what is NOT in their audited financial statements ·         Is it a college or is it a tuition collection agency.  Keystone College is our case study. ·         Delusion from NDC supporters ·         Nor...

Nobody can articulate the trials and tribulations of a closing college better than Jonathon Nichols.  His 2022 book, 'Requiem for a College' details both the emotional trauma he and his St. Joseph College (IN) faced as the college moved from fear of closing -- to actual closure a few months later.  His book also describes the research Jon did on the actions and inactions of the leadership of that...

In this week's episode, here are some of the news and commentaries. Northland College is going to hold more bake sales (Sarcasm alert) Mike Rowe ( of Dirty Jobs) has a spot on todays podcast. USDA loans are not all they are cracked up to be. The College Counterpoint podcast The president of a closing college talks about closures – en masse. Purchase one of the 2024 College Viability series of Apps...

There is nothing like the voice of experience.  Jon Nichols experienced a private college closure in 2017 at St. Joseph's (IN). Mr. Nichols shares similarities and differences from the private college clousure he experience with what he knows about the recent closure of Fontbonne University in St. Louis His book, 'Requiem for a College ' describes the emotional events leading up to the closure alo...

This Week in College Viability for April 1, 2024 1.      Layoffs Cutbacks and Closures 2.      Faculty power under pressure in KY 3.      St. Martin’s WA on the watch 4.      Bluffton / U Findlay merger:  not enough 5.      West Conn. U:  Pom Poms from the president 6.      Lesley U faculty is really good at no-confidence votes – Now if they could only graduate more than 50% of their students 7. ...

Debbie Kepple-Mamros is my guest for this special episode of This Week in College Viability.   Debbie leads the institutional research function for the Des Moines (IA) Area Community College system. She provides guidance on the IR function, adult markets, 'data days' staff training, the nuances about counting students, and much more.

Dr. Paula Langteau was president at Presentation College.   She developed critical processes for assessing an institution's financial viability and implementing key protocols to close an institution with dignity and compassion. The Higher Learning Commission heralded that work as the most comprehensive in assisting in the transition of students, faculty, and staff. Developing 36 Teach-Out agreemen...

Here are the headline stories for the March 25, 2024 episode of 'This Week in College Viability'. MU Is our cutback college this week – but in a different business sense. Is Hampshire College really on its way back? Columbia College in Chicago is searching for couch money to survive Bluffton U and U of Findlay merger:  Is two enough? BSC is back in the AL legislature.  I bet there are many more st...

Here are some of the news and commentary for March 18, 2024 Carbon Monoxide detectors turned off at Evergreen State College NDC student impact story. Public college consolidation continues to jump into HE news cycles. Dept of Ed wants pathetic minimum graduation thresholds FAFSA fiasco update EY Parthenon dances around the details on high risk colleges Wrap with a review of Scott Carlson’s article...

Here are some of the stories for the March 11th 'This Week in College Viability podcast. Student impact story on NDC closure Stories from Fitch & Bloomberg on HE Mississippi joins the merger/consolidation movement U Virginia: 1000 undergrads to pay the base salaries of DEI staff? Basketball team without a college Show notes and links: St. Norbert College announces further layoffs amid ongoing...