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🔈 What We’re Hearing. “It can be hard for students and families to figure out how a college is doing financially. Small colleges tend to provide limited information about their finances in annual public reports. And unlike public institutions, private nonprofits are exempt from public records laws.”

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“Nalia Mutz started her freshman year at the University of Lynchburg in 2022 knowing exactly where she wanted to be four years later: right on track toward her dream of becoming a doctor.

When the university eliminated a dozen majors in 2024, the resulting layoffs left fewer professors to teach the science courses she needed to graduate. She began to fear earning her biomedicine degree the way she’d planned could take two extra years.

“It was just a lot of cuts all around, and then they just didn’t have enough staff,” Mutz, 21, said.”

» Driving The News. “As colleges tighten their belts, millions of students like Mutz feel the consequences. Small, private nonprofit institutions that rely heavily on tuition — like the University of Lynchburg — are likely to be hit hardest.”

» The Big Picture. “Hundreds of four-year colleges and universities show clear signs of financial stress, according to Hechinger’s analysis of a decade of federal higher education data for colleges primarily granting bachelor’s degrees.”

» Why It Matters. “For most universities, financial troubles start with student enrollment. Declines have been accelerating; in 2019, for instance, about 1,050 colleges and universities — or 53 percent — had experienced enrollment drops in three of the previous five years. By 2024, that figure rose to about 1,090 institutions — or 58 percent. The problem is likely going to get worse.”

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The CCIW holds down the top two positions in this week’s DIII football polls, after North Central and Wheaton recorded top-5 victories. The WIAC also placed two teams in the top 10 i River Falls and Platteville.

» D3football. 1-North Central, 2-Wheaton, 3-Johns Hopkins, 4-UW-Platteville,
5-Bethel, 6-UW-River Falls, 7-Mount Union, 8-Saint John’s, 9-Wartburg, 10-John Carroll

» Inside the (D3FB) Huddle. 1-North Central, 2-Wheaton, 3-Johns Hopkins, 4-John Carroll, 5-Saint John’s, 6-UW-Platteville, 7-Mount Union, 8-Wartburg, 9-Bethel, 10-UW-River Falls

Defending national champion Wisconsin-Oshkosh received 71 of 76 first-place ballots to earn the top spot in the latest AVCA DIII volleyball poll. Trinity (Texas) picked up the other five firsts to finish behind the Titans, while Illinois Wesleyan is No. 3.

AVCA. 1-UW-Oshkosh (4-0), 2-Trinity TX (4-0), 3-Illinois Wesleyan (5-0), 4-East Texas Baptist (2-1), 5-Berry (2-1), 6-UW-Eau Claire (2-1), 7-MIT (3-0), 8-Colby (0-0), 9-Johns Hopkins (3-0), 10-Juniata (2-1)

Christopher Newport earned the top spot in the latest NFCHA DIII poll following three wins over top-25 teams. The Captains toppled No. 3 Babson, No. 10 Endicott, and No. 23 Washington and Lee and jumped three spots to assume the top rung on the ladder. Defending national champion Tufts is No. 2.

NFHCA. 1-Christopher Newport (3-0), 2-Tufts (1-0), 3-Salisbury (2-0), 4-Johns Hopkins (1-1), 5-Middlebury (1-0), 6-Babson (1-1), 7-Williams (1-0), 8-Stevens (3-0), 9-Messiah (2-0), 10-Bates (0-1)

» Volleyball. Berry senior RS Madie Whitehead was selected as the AVCA DIII Player of the Week. She averaged 4.73 kills and 5.64 points per set in a 2-1 weekend.

» Cross Country. Wesleyan junior Dylan Cote and Williams senior Kate Tuttle named USTFCCCA DIII National Athletes of the Week.

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