by Rick Seltzer, InsideHigherEd.com
Concordia University Portland announced earlier this week that it will close at the end of the spring semester. A statement from the institution said the university's board decided to close after "years of mounting financial challenges" and a changing landscape for education.
Although not a Division III institution, any time that a college closes its doors eyebrows are raised. What were the warning signs and what can be learned as other colleges sift through the pieces?
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Situational Awareness: "In 2012, the school spelled out three initiatives already under way that would position Concordia to survive this changing future. One was a law school it had launched in Boise, Idaho, that fall. Another was a pilot program newly launched in homeland security that it hoped to scale up quickly. And the third was a massive expansion of online graduate education.
Two years prior, in 2010, the university had partnered with a third-party service provider with marketing and recruitment expertise. Enrollment went on to double each year, jumping from 350 students in 2010 to 700 in 2011 and about 1,400 in 2012. Looking forward, leaders expected to enroll 2,500 students in 2013.
By all accounts, Concordia was massively successful in the ensuing years. Total enrollment more than doubled from over 3,000 students in 2012 to more than 7,400 in 2014, according to federal data. Much of that growth was among graduate students, where enrollment spiked from about 1,700 students to more than 6,000. Enrollment of adults aged 25 to 64 went from about 1,100 in 2011 to 3,697 in 2014."
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The Bottom Line: "In the ensuing days, the university
revealed to a state agency that its closure
will result in more than 1,500 people being terminated from their jobs between Feb. 25 and Sept. 30."
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Reality Check: "Concordia University Portland isn’t just an important story to watch in the Pacific Northwest. It’s one to watch across higher education. If this can happen to a university that grew rapidly in Portland, a burgeoning urban market, what does it mean about the future of other private liberal arts colleges showing more outward signs of stress?"
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Between the Lines: "Concordia did many of the things in vogue in higher education strategy circles. It diversified its revenue, branching out from relying on full-time undergraduates and adding graduate students and online muscle over the last decade. The university was still
reporting total enrollment of nearly 6,000 students. Its foundation added net assets in 2018, growing from $11.2 million to $12.1 million."
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Yes, But: "It may also suggest that the popular strategies aren’t enough, at least in some cases. Many colleges and universities are built on a business model that assumes annual growth in enrollment, in revenue or in both. As the economy changes and student populations change, that model may no longer work."
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Worth Your Time
Weekend's top men's games: #14 Franklin & Marshall at #12 Lynchburg; #20 Stevenson at #15 Ursinus; #8 Denison at #13 Washington and Lee (SUN).
Weekend's Best Matches: #10 Brandeis women at #9 MIT (SAT); #14 Carnegie Mellon men at #26 Denison (SUN).
Baseball Schedule: #17 Trinity (Texas) at #13 Concordia TX (SAT); #18 Misericordia at #21 Shenandoah (SUN, DH).
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