Ugh. US Virgin Islanders are given instate tuition at most state schools but many can’t afford to leave home.
UVI Remains Accredited, Faces Sept. 1 Deadline to Address Financial Concerns
https://stthomassource.com/content/2026/07/01/uvi-remains-accredited-faces-sept-1-deadline-to-address-financial-concerns/
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My experience was pre-2020 they had 2 years to prep the program (I was first cohort) - prep wasn’t a problem… but the first courses, they said 3-4x harder than setting up a regular new class and teaching it was their ONLY responsibility when teaching it the first pass. (literally)
I also shouldn’t have called it hybrid; the program was hybrid (a few things were regular in person), the classes I was referring to were mainly (not entirely) async work. The pedagogy behind it is all different from most in-person classes, and they had to keep to the caliber of a highly selective school, with high standards, and a professional program requiring a lot of collaboration, and for people doing this as adults. It wasn’t just putting a class over zoom over same number of weeks, etc . Truly, online learning is really different when done well - assignments were different, timing is different, etc. (There were no “in-person” students taking these classes - they were a different number of weeks, and didn’t even have the same numbers in the course catalog etc).
And though yes, it does get easier after a couple of semesters and the course is developed, it takes more upkeep and time than administrators seem to realize:)
Most people hate online learning as they haven’t seen it done well.
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Indeed, a true university is for expanding learning and knowledge, which goes beyond job preparation.
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Regarding teaching in-person vs online, I was talking to someone who taught classes both ways and he said answering questions via email was a lot harder than talking directly to someone.
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The merger between Willamette and Pacific University is moving forward: Oregon's oldest private universities agree to merge - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2
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In the latest sign that colleges are struggling mightily to enroll students and stay afloat, three Bay Area colleges have been placed on “warning” by an accreditor this year — including Dominican University of California in San Rafael and St. Mary’s College in Moraga, which received the bad news this month.
The third school, Academy of Art University in San Francisco, received its warning status in February.
They are among five California colleges and universities currently on accreditation warning by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, which accredits 178 four-year institutions in the state.
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Clarifying that St. Mary’s warning applies to only 1 of 4 WSCUC standards - that which relates to enrollment and planning for financial viability, an issue that many small liberal arts colleges are grappling with.
SMC hired a new president mid-2024 and launched a 3 year plan to address declining enrollment and the resulting financial loss. As the parent, I can attest that while there have been cutbacks, the quality of education and campus life for the students has remained strong.
This year they received their highest number of applications ever. They have also revived their Nursing major, and have introduced Division 1 Swimming and Water Polo for the 2026-27 school year.
My observation is that the college has been proactively addressing the issues raised in the WSCUC letter, and that there are many people working to ensure the college continues moving in the right direction. A progress report will be submitted in November, with a follow up visit in the fall of 2027.
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I hope it’s OK. We are fairly local to St Mary’s and it’s really something of a hidden gem. Go Gaels!
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The Northeastern/Marymount Manhattan merger has been finalized. It took 26 months to get final approval.
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Small Christian school that has recently had some financial troubles: https://www.pennlive.com/education/2026/07/after-87-years-this-pa-university-is-shutting-down-heres-why.html
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6 posts were split to a new thread: Northeastern Acquiring Other Campuses
Note that the posts about Northeastern have been moved to their own thread.
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Seems Hampshire college gets a fall semester. Not sure why someone would give them funding so late to keep them open. Doubt they even have a freshman class coming in. We wait and watch!
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Or any other class - you’d think by now, people have enrolled elsewhere.
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Actually, I found this dated 5/1 from Hampshire that showed the closure would be after Fall semester - so maybe this was known but the loan is now just being unveiled.
“As a result, the Board of Trustees voted to permanently close Hampshire College following the fall 2026 semester.”
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Seems odd to have a fall semester and then close halfway through the academic year?
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I am 99% sure the plan was always to have a fall semester and close in December. (oh now seeing it was announced in May)
A number of kids would be able to graduate then, was my recall. So then the kids who couldn’t graduate in December could transfer and those kids wouldn’t lose TONS of credits, potentially and have to take an extra year of school and transfer as seniors? Seems nice/smart to me.
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New College of Florida takes over USF Sarasota-Manatee. Seems this is a campus transfer with a teach out before the campus will be fully used by New College
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I thought that New College of Florida had enrollment problems. Yes, enrollment is up now, thanks to lots of gimmes - their per pupil costs are higher than comparable schools. Giving away scholarships to attract students catches up with schools eventually, and that’s why so many are in precarious financial situations. I don’t understand how this makes financial sense.
Public school with a classical mission backed by at least this administration although Mr DeSantis is on his way out - but they’ll likely create a mechanism to secure funding.