最新杏吧原创

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Students attending or considering 35 Midwestern colleges are 鈥渦rged to exercise caution鈥� over the schools鈥� long-term viability, according to the latest financial watchlist from the Scholarship Foundation of 最新杏吧原创.

The is mostly unchanged from last spring and includes local universities Maryville and Missouri Baptist. Schools in the region considered to be especially at-risk are Harris-Stowe, McKendree (Illinois), Quincy (Illinois) and Webster universities. Fontbonne University, which will shut down in fall 2025, also remains on the list.

Several universities on the watchlist, like Maryville, Missouri Baptist, Quincy and Webster, have 鈥渢each-out鈥� agreements with Fontbonne which means most students can transfer at the same tuition price and number of credits.

鈥淭he data are not promising with regard to students whose schools close actually completing their degrees,鈥� said Faith Sandler, executive director of the Scholarship Foundation. 鈥淪o what we want to do is try to get far enough ahead that students have a chance to go into their decision with eyes wide open, ask questions, get answers or learn that maybe this is not the school for them.鈥�

Higher education analysts have long warned of the challenges looming for small private colleges like Fontbonne, where enrollment had dropped to 650 undergraduates when the closure was announced.

While college enrollment has trended downward since the pandemic, tuition and operating costs have skyrocketed as Americans question the value of a bachelor鈥檚 degree.

The biggest financial stressor for higher education is the steady decline in births since the Great Recession in 2008, a cohort that will start graduating high school in the spring.

Nationwide, undergraduate enrollment increased by 3% this fall compared to 2023. But freshman enrollment is down 5% since last year, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Colleges had braced for a decline in freshmen after the U.S. government鈥檚 botched rollout last year of the revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Only 44% of Missouri鈥檚 high school class of 2024 completed the form, .

鈥淟ast year鈥檚 FAFSA fiasco drove away in particular the lowest income students in droves. It became too dispiriting and too late to make responsible decisions about enrollment,鈥� said Sandler of the Scholarship Foundation, which facilitates educational grants and no-interest loans for students who qualify.

Missouri Baptist University in Creve Coeur made the group鈥檚 watchlist in part for receiving a 鈥淐鈥� in Forbes鈥� .

Keith Ross, the university鈥檚 president, said including Missouri Baptist on the list is 鈥渕isleading and irresponsible.鈥�

The university has record-high reserves and responded to enrollment trends by building its graduate and online courses and adding degree programs in social work, nursing and public health, Ross said.

Missouri Baptist leaders are 鈥渃ontinually focused on practicing responsible financial stewardship that will ensure (the university鈥檚) ability to serve its students now and well into the future,鈥� he said.

The outlook for Webster University is also looking up after seven years in an operating deficit, said spokesman Patrick Giblin.

Giblin said Webster has grown by more than 4,000 students in the 18 months since the 2023 data used for the financial watchlist. Worldwide enrollment at the university鈥檚 campuses this fall is projected to be the biggest since 2016, with 14,791 students.

Harris-Stowe State University has faced financial and academic struggles for decades, but received positive news this month with a return to full accreditation after being placed 鈥渙n notice鈥� by the Higher Learning Commission in 2022.

Still, enrollment at the historically Black university has fallen by nearly 40% in the past five years 鈥� now down to 1,002 students from 1,630 students in fall of 2019.

Maryville University needs a new residence hall after welcoming the largest freshman class in its history and more than 1,000 new students overall, according to an . Declining revenues related to the pandemic landed the university on the financial watchlist but have since rebounded, officials said last spring.

Maryville is investing $20 million in technology initiatives,聽said university spokeswoman Gabrielle Young.

"The ability to remain agile while the perception of higher education fluctuates over the years is embedded into the goals and objectives of our university," she said.

McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, has 1,361 students this fall, a slight increase from last year but down from 2,342 a decade ago. But the university bucked the national trend of fewer freshmen by bringing in 535 new students, the largest incoming class in its history.

The increase in new students is attributed in part to the , a tuition discount for Illinois residents.

Enrollment at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois fell below 1,100 students this fall, a loss of 3% compared to 2023.

鈥淕iven the chaos created by this year鈥檚 error-filled federal financial aid process, we are pleased to have what for us is a fairly typical enrollment year, with about the same number of students on campus as last year,鈥� said Quincy President Brian McGee, in a statement.