Crushed by debt from under Mrs B Sanders...
Jane Sanders was once president of Burlington College, which announced Monday it will be shutting down.
concerns about the rising cost of college and a shrinking population of high school graduates. Now one school with ties to a presidential candidate is the latest victim of these financial woes.
Burlington College, a tiny school located in Burlington, Vt., will close on May 27, after years of financial trouble. Students still attending the college will be able to complete their programs at schools nearby, school officials said during a Monday news conference. Burlington College is shutting down in part due to the “crushing weight of the debt,” the school took on to buy more than 30 acres of land in 2010, according to a news release from the college posted by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Jane Sanders, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, was president of Burlington College at the time of the purchase. When asked during the news conference Monday if Sanders is culpable for the school’s current predicament, Burlington College President Carol Moore said she couldn’t comment. (The Sanders campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.)
At the time of the land purchase, school officials hoped it would help the school grow by luring more students and alumni donations, Politico reported earlier this year. It’s not uncommon for colleges to construct new buildings or update dorms and recreation centers to attract students, said Robert Kelchen, a professor at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. who studies higher education finance. “Burlington operated for years with very little overhead and then they bought a campus essentially,” said Kelchen. “They took a big risk to try to increase enrollment and it did not pay off.”
After years of struggling to settle its debts, the school sold most of the property to a developer last year. The school’s financial situation put its accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges at risk. Colleges and universities must be accredited to receive federal financial aid funding.
Burlington is just one of many small, private schools struggling to survive in an environment where families are increasingly concerned about the cost of college and high school class sizes are shrinking. Sweet Briar College, an all-women’s college in Virginia, announced it would shut down last year. Concerned alumni managed to save the school, but its future remains unclear.
Many of these small, private colleges have minimal endowments and rely heavily on tuition dollars and financial aid to stay afloat, said Alexander Holt, a policy analyst at New America, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. It’s not uncommon for these schools to embark on aggressive growth plans to appeal to more students and bringing more money, but as in the case of Burlington, it often doesn’t work. Holt described Burlington’s expansion plan as “reckless,” arguing that it prioritized enhancing the school’s reputation over the future of its current students.
“These private colleges that don’t have a tremendous reputation but are going to charge high tuition in order to fulfill this grand ambition, we expect these things to happen,” Holt said. “
Though it’s may become increasingly common for small, private schools to close, few will be as newsworthy. Burlington will shut down as Bernie Sanders is still trying to win the Democratic nomination for president based in part on his proposals to allow all students to attend public colleges and universities tuition free. (Bernie Sanders was also mayor of Burlington from 1981 to 1989.)
In addition to its own economic woes, it appears Burlington also struggled to put its students on sound financial footing over the past few years. Just 24% of first-time, full-time students graduated from the school within six years, according to government data. What’s more, financial aid recipients typically earned just $28,900 10 years after leaving school. All of that may have made it more difficult for Burlington to continue.
“It’s hard to get people to come anywhere when there are just fewer high school graduates and it’s particularly hard to get them to come to a small college with financial difficulties in the news,” Kelchen said.
Jane Sanders was once president of Burlington College, which announced Monday it will be shutting down.
concerns about the rising cost of college and a shrinking population of high school graduates. Now one school with ties to a presidential candidate is the latest victim of these financial woes.
Burlington College, a tiny school located in Burlington, Vt., will close on May 27, after years of financial trouble. Students still attending the college will be able to complete their programs at schools nearby, school officials said during a Monday news conference. Burlington College is shutting down in part due to the “crushing weight of the debt,” the school took on to buy more than 30 acres of land in 2010, according to a news release from the college posted by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Jane Sanders, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, was president of Burlington College at the time of the purchase. When asked during the news conference Monday if Sanders is culpable for the school’s current predicament, Burlington College President Carol Moore said she couldn’t comment. (The Sanders campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.)
At the time of the land purchase, school officials hoped it would help the school grow by luring more students and alumni donations, Politico reported earlier this year. It’s not uncommon for colleges to construct new buildings or update dorms and recreation centers to attract students, said Robert Kelchen, a professor at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. who studies higher education finance. “Burlington operated for years with very little overhead and then they bought a campus essentially,” said Kelchen. “They took a big risk to try to increase enrollment and it did not pay off.”
After years of struggling to settle its debts, the school sold most of the property to a developer last year. The school’s financial situation put its accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges at risk. Colleges and universities must be accredited to receive federal financial aid funding.
Burlington is just one of many small, private schools struggling to survive in an environment where families are increasingly concerned about the cost of college and high school class sizes are shrinking. Sweet Briar College, an all-women’s college in Virginia, announced it would shut down last year. Concerned alumni managed to save the school, but its future remains unclear.
Many of these small, private colleges have minimal endowments and rely heavily on tuition dollars and financial aid to stay afloat, said Alexander Holt, a policy analyst at New America, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. It’s not uncommon for these schools to embark on aggressive growth plans to appeal to more students and bringing more money, but as in the case of Burlington, it often doesn’t work. Holt described Burlington’s expansion plan as “reckless,” arguing that it prioritized enhancing the school’s reputation over the future of its current students.
“These private colleges that don’t have a tremendous reputation but are going to charge high tuition in order to fulfill this grand ambition, we expect these things to happen,” Holt said. “
Though it’s may become increasingly common for small, private schools to close, few will be as newsworthy. Burlington will shut down as Bernie Sanders is still trying to win the Democratic nomination for president based in part on his proposals to allow all students to attend public colleges and universities tuition free. (Bernie Sanders was also mayor of Burlington from 1981 to 1989.)
In addition to its own economic woes, it appears Burlington also struggled to put its students on sound financial footing over the past few years. Just 24% of first-time, full-time students graduated from the school within six years, according to government data. What’s more, financial aid recipients typically earned just $28,900 10 years after leaving school. All of that may have made it more difficult for Burlington to continue.
“It’s hard to get people to come anywhere when there are just fewer high school graduates and it’s particularly hard to get them to come to a small college with financial difficulties in the news,” Kelchen said.
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