One of N.J.’s Oldest Colleges May Shut Down- Bloomfield College

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Tireman 44444, Oct 25, 2021.

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  1. Tireman 44444

    Tireman 44444 Well-Known Member

    Standing before her campus last week, Marcheta Evans knew what she was about to do was incredibly risky. But she did it anyway. The Bloomfield College president faced a town hall meeting of students and faculty and let all of the school’s secrets out. The 153-year-old private college is in serious financial trouble, she told the crowd. It doesn’t have enough money to start the 2022-2023 school year unless a donor or another college steps in to save it.

    As she was speaking Tuesday, Inside Higher Ed, an industry publication, was preparing to publish an interview with Evans that was essentially a nationwide wanted ad calling on other institutions to make a deal to get Bloomfield College out of its death spiral.

    One of N.J.’s oldest colleges may shut down. Here’s how things fell apart. (msn.com)
     
    Dustin and SteveFoerster like this.
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    And the difficult transition for U.S. higher education marches on....
     
  3. Asymptote

    Asymptote Active Member

    Ok, but how did it get to this point?
     
  4. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    It's in the article. Amid falling enrollment, they posted a loss in at least 2018 and 2019, likely 2020 and 2021 as well. They made up the shortfall by dipping into the unrestricted funds in their endowment. The majority of their income comes from tuition, so when COVID prevented students from enrolling they experienced a cash crunch.

    Despite noting they failed to do these things, the article does mention a number of strategies that simply didn't pan out.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  5. datby98

    datby98 Active Member

    The textbook tells me that managers in a not-for-profit business do not have many flexibilities in raising capital, but mainly in debt financing, e.g., from banks or wealthy individuals. But Bloomfield is a private, for-profit one?
     
  6. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    I was once Executive Director of a Chamber of Commerce. We were a 501c(4), so donations weren't tax deductible, but the generalities are the same. We had a range of strategies to raise revenue including selling advertising, membership dues, fees for training, professional fee-for-service arrangements (though this one is tricky while remaining within the boundaries of a c4) and other things like more traditional fundraising appeals.

    Nonprofits are still businesses (just ones that get a tax break), so they could raise revenue in a variety of ways. Donations, tuition and grants of course, but also corporate training, naming rights/sponsorships, bringing in new programs through OPMs who design and market the curriculum in exchange for a share of the tuition brought in, and so on. They'll have to pay tax on Unrelated Business Income (UBI) but it's still an option.
     
  7. Courcelles

    Courcelles Active Member

    The article makes it sound like online or graduate programs are a cash cow they didn’t exploit. While I’m sure they ARE cash cows for known schools, for a place with no reputation, I don’t know how accurate that really is now in a crowded market.. It’s not like we need more no-name online MBAs to choose from these days.
     
  8. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Maybe not an MBA, but they could have looked into offering some other type of degree that is both in demand and that few or no other schools offer online.
     
  9. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I think they should augment the school to "University" status that means changing its name to Bloomfield University or the University of Bloomfield. Although there is nothing wrong with Bloomfield College, most people prefer "University" over "College." I found that some foreigners are offended when I ask if they are currently in College. Most of the time, they respond they are not attending "College", but they are attending "Uni." Then start offering online degrees, look at the University of the Cumberlands and Liberty University. Bloomfield already has the resources to start to innovate education matching with the digital age.
     
  10. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    I know how much you dislike most school names :D But in this case they're already hurting for money, and changing the school's name might confuse the people they're relying on for donations and also cost a lot in rebranding fees.
     

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