Wasn’t New College originally part of USF?
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New College was originally a private college (part of the small wave of experimental postsecondary education in the 1960s that, perhaps more famously, Hampshire College was part of).
It couldn’t keep financially solvent, and so in the 1970s it became an upper-division satellite campus of USF, and then right before I lived in Florida (so about 25 years ago) it was spun off as the designated state public honors college.
(The next ten years were arguably its high point, in terms of educational quality and making a name for itself.)
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For those interested in the recent history of New College, some alumni were involved in creating this documentary that’s now showing around the country (they are trying to get show at many college campuses): https://www.firsttheycameformycollege.com/.
I grew up in Tampa in the 1970s and 80s, and New College was known as a quirky intellectual place even then. It felt like liberal arts intellectualism for truly middle class people, or even low income. Such a cool education for so little money. But it appealed to a small subset for the most part, and no grades and tons of flexibility is great for the right kid but challenging for many…always had money trouble, but had state funding, and all the recent political stuff has meant much more money alongside a lot of challenging drama. I didn’t go there but my husband did. I have a friend with a kid there now, and despite all the crazy political stuff, that kid feels like he is getting the kind of bespoke intellectual education he was looking for. I really hope they can hold on, continue getting the additional funding, and rebuild trust in the broader New College community (students, alumni, faculty).
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Given it’s the state governments favorite college, I don’t see that as an issue - at least as long as a conservative is governor.
If anything though, since colleges are opening new campuses in other cities, maybe Hillsdale would buy it.
I was speaking a little more broadly about “holding on.” If New College wants to continue to be a bespoke intellectual liberal arts school that punches above its weight in PhD admissions, Fulbrights, and such (which it used to and which, weirdly, is in some ways what the conservative state government half-suggested it wanted – not the PhDs but the classical, intellectual environment), it needs to attract students who want that. It pushed away its historic student base, and while some (like my friend’s kid) stuck by it despite the changes, a large number of new students seem to be there for not-really-yet-existent sports experiences. I fear it will be hard for it to maintain/rebuild; its academic standards have suffered even with the recent influx of state funding. I don’t know enough about Hillsdale to know if there’s a market for a public Hillsdale, and I’m assuming there would be legal limitations on actually being a public Hillsdale, though the law evolves…
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Interestingly, Hillsdale takes no federal funding but obviously tuition is higher.
In our state, they tried to install Hillsdale curriculums in the HS - so I’m guessing this was DeSantis and if Donalds is governor - something they’ll be seeking vs. having future PhDs.
Time will tell - but politicians change and therefore missions can change. But I think the old mission is likely gone.
Two years after a conservative takeover, what New College lost and gained - masslive.com
Not at risk of closing, but a sign of some level of financial concerns… Boston University is ending its participation in the Tuition Exchange program after this admission cycle. Current students will be grandfathered in. While BU typically only awards 10-20 spots per year, the impact is likely to be felt most profoundly by BU employees. Given the very competitive acceptance rate, the in-house tuition remission benefit isn’t really much of a carrot for most. Taking advantage of the exchange is a much more valuable benefit. I work in higher ed, so I have a good idea of what many BU employees with high school children right now must be thinking (time to move on and get paid a more competitive salary).
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Perks like tuition/tuition exchange are so important for colleges to offer. Salaries are typically pretty low in higher ed. I can’t believe the salaries I am seeing for jobs in financial aid. I saw one today that expected far too much from an employee who would be paid the salary they are offering. Without things like tuition perks, schools will be hard pressed to attract and retain staff.
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perhaps this is just the first move in a shift towards cafeteria benefits? I’ve worked for companies where the non-parents complained that the benefit package unduly rewarded workers with children. So many companies in the corporate sector have gradually phased out “parent only” benefits in favor of “choose your own adventure” plans.
You don’t need a family plan for Rx discounts? Use the money to subsidize your gym membership. You don’t need an additional life insurance policy for a non-working spouse? You can divert that money towards vision and dental care. Etc. Employees are getting the same subsidy but using it on the things THEY need, not forgoing money because they don’t have a partner or children.
I think the tuition plans need a longer runway when they get phased out because parents plan on four years of the benefit…
Just a guess. I have no insider knowledge of BU…
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The details of BU’s changes: Important Changes to Boston University Tuition Remission and Tuition Exchange Benefits | Human Resources
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I would be VERY curious what the other colleges in Boston do..I don’t think BC, Harvard or Tufts offer tuition exchange as such it wouldn’t surprise me BU wouldn’t…I think it is more about local competition than anything else.
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I don’t. I think its about budget planning in the face of a $30mil budget shortfall.
I’ve sat in “town hall” meetings at my own institution where we’ve been told everything, including 403b matching contribution and tuition remission and exchange benefits are on the table in an effort to avoid layoffs.
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Oh that is the impetus for SURE, but I mean they look at the competition for staff and say “this is easy to get rid of”
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My take: If I’m staff or admin wanting to work in higher ed (and actually I am, and I do), I’m looking for the place with the best compensation, including benefits. I’m not choosing MIT over Suffolk for the prestige of institution. If I’m faculty, I’m looking at the most prestigious, or the best environment for my field of study, most likely, not examining the perks in the same way.
BU is no Harvard, BC or Tufts, regardless of their 14% admission rate (and i say this nicely, as I’m a BU alum). All this is really doing is limiting their ability to attract talent–they are already widely known to undercompensate. It seems like a foolhardy way to save some $ (and not even a whole lot, given the limit of 10 recipients per year).
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The change to TE doesn’t start until 2028 school year. There is no way of knowing if a current employee with a student in hs, who might have been ‘counting on TE’ would have been awarded it. If you follow the TE threads here, many parents did count on it and were disappointed that their student didn’t get it at the school(s) their kid really wanted to go to. The children of BU employees can still try to go to BU.
I can’t see how BU can give much more than 2 years notice. If other schools see that BU is ending TE in 2030, are they going to stop awarding it to applicants from BU knowing that their own employees aren’t going to benefit and they may never get the exchange reciprocity?
I would argue this is attracting very few people though. I challenge you to find a study that shows people who pick a job because of this sort of benefit… it is much more like pay, maybe health benefits and maybe advancement. And in Boston? Commute!
AND the competition doesn’t offer this benefit so they aren’t getting it anywhere else (which was my point).
I 1000000% agree nobody is picking based on prestige of school, I wasn’t remotely implying that and was saying NOTHING about prestige of any of the schools at all. I am implying that is where people with skills are choosing between to work. Maybe Sr. Director of Fin Aid has an offer between Tufts and BU - they will look at pay, health and commute first (most likely) and then all that other stuff… I could have added suffolk or emerson. Do they have tuition exchange? Maybe, they also have far far fewer jobs though so less likely to be in running with a simultaneously offer than Tufts or BC as much smaller schools and would be surprised they pay more (maybe?)
Doesn’t mean scattered people won’t be annoyed or think different. But on the whole…as a strategic decision makes perfect sense as something to cut. Can’t please everyone.
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For faculty and administrators (much less for staff, though still for some high-level positions), the higher-ed job market is entirely a national one, not a local one. When colleges calculate the relative ROI on salary and benefits, their competition isn’t even remotely limited to the local market.
It has been a few years since I was job searching in Boston, but back in the day, there were a solid dozen or so schools that offered TE. I opted to work at one over a higher-paying corporate position for the tuition benefit. I would have chosen a job at any of them over a school that didn’t offer it (especially a Harvard or Tufts, as I have known since early days that my kids were not getting in to schools like that).
I can only offer anecdotal evidence. I’ve worked in higher ed for 23 years, and been on numerous hiring committees. Tuition remission (at the home institution) is a HUGE driver of how we attract talent. My employer is not a very competitive school, so it is sort of a given that if you work here your kid is likely to get in and attend (for free). For a school like BU with a much tougher admit rate, TE offers an attractive possibility. Even at my institution, TE is a big carrot, as many of us didn’t want our kids limited to having to attend the home institution.
Now, I counter all of that by saying the nuances of TE are not really fully understood until you start to go through the process, and in the end, many of my colleagues have decided the benefit is not nearly as valuable as advertised during the hiring process. Nonetheless, it still is/was an important factor for most of my colleagues with dependents.
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Minnesota state college closing their Detroit Lake campus
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I just had time to google a few more randomly - emerson, simmons did, Bentley, didn’t. Surely not ubiquitous and as someone that worked in HR strategy (in non-profit sector, I actually consulted with one of the schools mentioned here a loooooooong time ago, admittedly), it is very very very very rare for people to ACTUALLY pick jobs this way, certainly in mass, even if people think they do. And it is only relevant to a VERY small number of candidates.
I would argue, as people look at equity (as a concept) these sort of benefits that help a few, hugely, seem really inequitable and can turn people off as an offering.
Anyway WILDLY off topic as almost none of these are in danger of closing and pretty much every school is having budget cuts, including the richest!
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