US College Closings Worry Educators
2023-12-10
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1American higher education experts are concerned that small colleges closed at a high rate in 2023.
2They say college closures can prevent students from finishing their study programs and take away some of the country's unique education offerings.
3The website HigherEd Dive notes 26 American colleges and universities either closed or announced their plans to close in 2023.
4About half that number closed or announced their closing in 2022.
5The colleges that closed this year were privately funded and mostly small.
6They were facing a loss of money and a drop in student numbers.
7Some schools closed completely, while others combined with nearby schools.
8Most offered students a chance to finish their study programs or move on to another school nearby.
9Although the schools made efforts to assist their students, professors and others who worked at the colleges lost their jobs.
10Alliance University in New York state is one of the schools that closed this year.
11The university was started by Christian missionaries in New York City in 1880.
12It offered mostly religious study programs until the 1960s and 1970s, when it expanded to offer programs in education and business.
13At one point, the university had close to 3,000 students.
14But the publication Inside Higher Ed reports that the number had dropped below 2,000 in recent years.
15The school had a budget shortfall of many millions of dollars that it could not make up.
16After an accreditor reviewed the school's situation last summer, the university announced its plan to close.
17An accreditor is a group that permits colleges and universities to operate.
18Heather Garcia worked at the school for many years.
19She also took classes and earned two science degrees there.
20She said the university asked the accreditor for more time to improve its finances.
21However, the group decided the school's plan was not strong enough.
22She said the school was going "deeper into debt each year."
23Garcia also noted that the student population continued to drop after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
24The school knew it was in trouble.
25It had started new professional training programs in an effort to attract more students.
26It had also tried to cut spending.
27But the decision still came as a surprise.
28Some students were able to finish their study programs over the summer.
29But others needed to move to new schools.
30Garcia said she felt especially bad for new students and for those who had come to play on the school's sports teams.
31The school's last day was August 31.
32The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, or SHEEO, advocates for higher education in the U.S. Last year, the organization produced a report that looked at students affected by college closures.
33The report covered 467 schools that closed between 2004 and 2020.
34The major concern of SHEEO is that students whose studies get interrupted by a closure often do not go on to graduate.
35More than half of students do not continue with their studies.
36Among those who do, only about 37 percent finish their degree.
37In some cases, students do not get their school fees returned.
38In other cases, students have trouble getting their school records to send to other universities.
39SHEEO's report asked that states require colleges to help with these concerns if they close, and said colleges should avoid sudden closures.
40In 2021, The Hechinger Report noted that students whose schools combine with others also face similar problems.
41Observers will be watching what happens with the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York.
42The small school recently announced a plan to close in May 2024.
43An accreditation group said it was concerned about the college's finances for the 2024-2025 school year.
44The school has been losing money since 2013.
45It lost $11 million in 2020.
46Cuts to study programs and changes in leadership did not put the school on a better path.
47Bryan Alexander is a writer and researcher whose work centers on the future of higher education.
48He said the small school closures could lead to a "one-size fits all" style of higher education.
49That style, he said, may not be suitable for students who have learning troubles or special interests in art, music or language.
50Alexander said a government push for Americans to go to college that started in the 1980s, combined with a large population of college-aged young adults, helped many small colleges stay open.
51But now, he said, the costs of college are high, there are fewer college-aged people, and some people are questioning the value of college.
52The first signs that a college is in danger come when there are reductions in study programs and changes "behind the scenes."
53Alexander was asked if this year's high number of closures is cause for alarm in higher education.
54"I think, within higher ed, the alarm has already been sounded. Presidents, Deans, Provosts.
55This is the stuff that keeps them up at nights."
56Alexander noted that the U.S. is unusual when compared to the rest of the world.
57The country has a lot of small schools with special study programs.
58He noted Oberlin College in Ohio and Wesleyan University in Connecticut, but there are many more.
59In many other countries, universities are generally not smaller than 10,000 students.
60"You know, all these little small colleges, and they're really special.
61They're delightful. But they're fragile. They don't have economies of scale."
62Economy of scale is a reference to the lower cost of a service per person at a large university when compared to a small college.
63The cost to provide a study program is much higher per student at a small college.
64Large American universities with financial problems, such as West Virginia University, are usually able to make changes and continue to stay open.
65That is because they receive government support.
66"State governments don't want to close the state university," Alexander said.
67"When we see that happen, that will be a big deal."
68Garcia, who worked at and attended Alliance, said observers may not see her school closing as a large loss in the same way they would if a famous school closed.
69But for the people who went to school and worked there, she said: "it is deeply painful."
70"It really just felt special. It felt like we had just this little special niche there in the bottom corner of New York City...and that what we were doing was making an impact on the whole world because we would send, you know, we have alumni all over the world."
71I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Gena Bennett.
1American higher education experts are concerned that small colleges closed at a high rate in 2023. They say college closures can prevent students from finishing their study programs and take away some of the country's unique education offerings. 2The website HigherEd Dive notes 26 American colleges and universities either closed or announced their plans to close in 2023. About half that number closed or announced their closing in 2022. 3The colleges that closed this year were privately funded and mostly small. They were facing a loss of money and a drop in student numbers. Some schools closed completely, while others combined with nearby schools. Most offered students a chance to finish their study programs or move on to another school nearby. 4Although the schools made efforts to assist their students, professors and others who worked at the colleges lost their jobs. 5A small college in New York 6Alliance University in New York state is one of the schools that closed this year. 7The university was started by Christian missionaries in New York City in 1880. It offered mostly religious study programs until the 1960s and 1970s, when it expanded to offer programs in education and business. 8At one point, the university had close to 3,000 students. But the publication Inside Higher Ed reports that the number had dropped below 2,000 in recent years. 9The school had a budget shortfall of many millions of dollars that it could not make up. After an accreditor reviewed the school's situation last summer, the university announced its plan to close. An accreditor is a group that permits colleges and universities to operate. 10Heather Garcia worked at the school for many years. She also took classes and earned two science degrees there. She said the university asked the accreditor for more time to improve its finances. However, the group decided the school's plan was not strong enough. 11She said the school was going "deeper into debt each year." Garcia also noted that the student population continued to drop after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 12The school knew it was in trouble. It had started new professional training programs in an effort to attract more students. It had also tried to cut spending. But the decision still came as a surprise. 13Some students were able to finish their study programs over the summer. But others needed to move to new schools. Garcia said she felt especially bad for new students and for those who had come to play on the school's sports teams. 14The school's last day was August 31. 15Concerns for the future 16The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, or SHEEO, advocates for higher education in the U.S. Last year, the organization produced a report that looked at students affected by college closures. The report covered 467 schools that closed between 2004 and 2020. 17The major concern of SHEEO is that students whose studies get interrupted by a closure often do not go on to graduate. More than half of students do not continue with their studies. Among those who do, only about 37 percent finish their degree. 18In some cases, students do not get their school fees returned. In other cases, students have trouble getting their school records to send to other universities. 19SHEEO's report asked that states require colleges to help with these concerns if they close, and said colleges should avoid sudden closures. 20In 2021, The Hechinger Report noted that students whose schools combine with others also face similar problems. 21Observers will be watching what happens with the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. The small school recently announced a plan to close in May 2024. An accreditation group said it was concerned about the college's finances for the 2024-2025 school year. 22The school has been losing money since 2013. It lost $11 million in 2020. Cuts to study programs and changes in leadership did not put the school on a better path. 23What comes next? 24Bryan Alexander is a writer and researcher whose work centers on the future of higher education. 25He said the small school closures could lead to a "one-size fits all" style of higher education. That style, he said, may not be suitable for students who have learning troubles or special interests in art, music or language. 26Alexander said a government push for Americans to go to college that started in the 1980s, combined with a large population of college-aged young adults, helped many small colleges stay open. But now, he said, the costs of college are high, there are fewer college-aged people, and some people are questioning the value of college. 27The first signs that a college is in danger come when there are reductions in study programs and changes "behind the scenes." Alexander was asked if this year's high number of closures is cause for alarm in higher education. 28"I think, within higher ed, the alarm has already been sounded. Presidents, Deans, Provosts. This is the stuff that keeps them up at nights." 29Alexander noted that the U.S. is unusual when compared to the rest of the world. The country has a lot of small schools with special study programs. He noted Oberlin College in Ohio and Wesleyan University in Connecticut, but there are many more. 30In many other countries, universities are generally not smaller than 10,000 students. 31"You know, all these little small colleges, and they're really special. They're delightful. But they're fragile. They don't have economies of scale." 32Economy of scale is a reference to the lower cost of a service per person at a large university when compared to a small college. The cost to provide a study program is much higher per student at a small college. 33Large American universities with financial problems, such as West Virginia University, are usually able to make changes and continue to stay open. That is because they receive government support. 34"State governments don't want to close the state university," Alexander said. "When we see that happen, that will be a big deal." 35Garcia, who worked at and attended Alliance, said observers may not see her school closing as a large loss in the same way they would if a famous school closed. But for the people who went to school and worked there, she said: "it is deeply painful." 36"It really just felt special. It felt like we had just this little special niche there in the bottom corner of New York City...and that what we were doing was making an impact on the whole world because we would send, you know, we have alumni all over the world." 37I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Gena Bennett. 38Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. 39____________________________________________________ 40Words in This Story 41unique - adj. something different from everything else 42fund - v. to provide money for something 43missionary - n. a religious worker who travels to talk about and convert people to their religion 44accreditor - n. an organization that checks the credentials of a school and determines if they have permission to operate 45especially - adv. a word used to indicate that something deserves extra attention 46advocate - n. a person or organization that supports a cause 47delightful - adj. a word used to describe something that is special, fun or exciting 48fragile - adj. something easily hurt or broken 49a big deal - n. something that is very important or hard to believe 50niche - n. something that has a unique position, unlike others 51missionary - n. a religious worker who travels to talk about and convert people to their religion 52alumni - n. (plural) people who attended a school 53We want to hear from you. Are small colleges closing where you live? How do people feel about that?