Dive Brief:
- Northland College has a plan to revamp its model and stay open, drawn from ideas campus stakeholders put forward to its board.
- The Wisconsin-based liberal arts college intends to refocus around eight “high demand, mission-aligned majors,” many of them focused on outdoor and environmental fields, according to a Wednesday release. The college currently lists 40 programs, which includes 18 minors, emphases and special programs.
- Northland, which declared financial exigency in April, also plans to cut $7 million out of its budget, resulting in an unspecified number of staff and faculty reductions. The college has secured “several million dollars” to help bridge its short-term deficit, it said.
Dive Insight:
After coming to the brink of closure, Northland has been scrambling to write a survival plan in recent weeks.
“It is not lost on us that today’s announcement could have gone a very different direction,” Ted Bristol, chair of Northland’s board, said in a statement. “Many colleges like Northland are being forced to make difficult decisions and we’ve seen many closures in recent years — even in recent weeks.”
The college said the remaining programs it plans to keep “stay true to Northland’s liberal arts and interdisciplinary studies commitment” while also accounting for demand.
Northland tied its future to programs in natural resources, business, education, biology, psychology and social sciences, earth studies, environmental humanities, and sustainable community development.
The college’s current academic year will finish according to plan. For students that opt to leave Northland, the college said it will offer teach-out and transfer options as well as campus support resources to assist them. It will also notify prospective students and refund their deposits if they are affected by curriculum changes.
In March, Northland said it would have to close if it could not meet a Hail Mary fundraising goal of $12 million. Despite record donations, it came up with only a fraction of that target by its early April deadline.
But rather than close, Northland declared exigency, a college restructuring process often involving cutting programs and tenured faculty. That was followed by an announcement of “transformative” gifts and a hopeful note about the college’s future in late April, though it didn’t provide details on amounts or donors.
Originally founded in 1892, Northland has built its brand around environmental and sustainability-focused programming. Its enrollment fell to 518 students in fall 2022, down 18.4% compared to five years prior, per federal data. It ran a $3.2 million deficit in fiscal 2022, according to tax forms.
Its plan to refocus “puts the College on track for long-term stability,” Northland said, citing projections based on enrollment, expense and funding data. In addition to downsizing and refocusing, the college said it plans to explore new revenue streams, though it didn’t offer details.