Dive Brief:
- Despite recent turnaround efforts, Northland College, in Wisconsin, plans to close at the end of the current academic year following a unanimous vote by its board of trustees, the institution announced Wednesday.
- “We no longer have the resources needed to navigate the economic and demographic storms endangering small, liberal arts institutions today,” board Chair Ted Bristol said in a statement.
- Northland President Chad Dayton has resigned, the college said in its closing announcement. The board appointed Barb Lundberg, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, as interim president as the institution prepares to shutter.
Dive Insight:
Founded in 1992, Northland has suffered from many of the same enrollment woes facing small liberal arts colleges in recent years.
Between 2018 and 2023, fall enrollment declined 16.7% to 485 students, per federal data. In fiscal 2023, the college reported a total deficit of about $5.1 million, up from $2.9 million the year before, according to its latest financials.
Less than a year ago, Northland put out an SOS call. In March 2024, the college told its community that it needed to raise $12 million in roughly a month or it would be forced to close.
The institution missed its fundraising target by a wide margin, but it did receive what it described as “transformative” gifts, which officials described at the time as “a positive development that changes the scope of the situation.”
The institution in early April declared financial exigency, which allows colleges to lay off tenured faculty and wind down programs in times of budgetary duress.
In May, Northland unveiled a plan to dramatically downscale by refocusing around eight core, high-demand programs, down from 40. Many of the remaining programs were centered on environmental and outdoor fields — areas that the liberal arts college had long focused on. The institution also planned to shave $7 million from its budget, and soon after announced it would cut nine faculty positions.
In announcing its plan to revamp, Northland sounded an optimistic note, saying in May that its turnaround plan “puts the College on track for long-term stability.”
Despite those efforts, Northland is now readying to close.
“With declining enrollment and soaring costs, it takes more to operate the College than we raise in tuition,” Bristol said Wednesday. “Even after enacting aggressive measures to cut costs and raise revenues, Northland College has no sustainable path forward.”
In a message to the Northland community, Lundberg said, “My immediate concern today is to address the impact of this closure on Northland’s students.”
To that end, the new interim president said courses would continue through the term’s end, and Northland would hold spring commencement as planned.
The college will pair students with academic advisors to determine options for finishing degrees, including through transfers and teach-out agreements with participating institutions, Lundberg said. Northland has not yet announced partnerships for those teach-outs.
