As schools shut, small spiritual campuses in rural states are among the many most imperiled

DAVENPORT, Iowa — The Catholic prayer for the devoted echoed off the limestone partitions and marble flooring of the high-ceilinged chapel.

It implored God to consolation the poor and the hungry. The sick and the struggling. The anxious and the afraid.

Then it took an sudden flip.

“Lord, hear our prayer for St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy College,” the younger voice mentioned, “that the grace of the Holy Spirit might assist us to observe God’s plan for our new partnership.”

The speaker was speaking about ongoing efforts to unite St. Ambrose College, the place this weeknight Mass was being held, with fellow Catholic college Mount Mercy. Small spiritual faculties in rural states are shutting down at an accelerating price, a destiny these two try to keep away from.

“Lord, hear our prayer,” responded the congregation of scholars in St. Ambrose-branded T-shirts and hoodies.

The heads of each St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy, which is in Cedar Rapids, mentioned they’ve watched as close by religiously affiliated schools, athletic rivals and establishments that employed their pals and former colleagues closed.

With falling numbers of candidates to school — particularly within the Midwest — “we simply don’t have the demographics anymore,” mentioned St. Ambrose President Amy Novak. Now, as fewer graduates emerge from excessive faculties, combining forces is a option to forestall “the truth that we would all see in 5 or seven years,” Novak mentioned.

For a lot of different small religiously affiliated establishments, time has already run out.

See a listing of religiously affiliated schools which have closed, been merged, or introduced that they’re closing or merging.

Greater than half of the 77 nonprofit schools and universities which have closed or merged since 2020, or introduced that they’ll shut or merge, have been religiously affiliated, based on a Hechinger Report evaluation of reports protection and federal knowledge. Greater than 30 which are nonetheless in enterprise are on a U.S. Division of Training record of establishments thought-about “not financially accountable” due to comparatively low money reserves and web earnings and excessive ranges of debt.

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Some small, religiously affiliated establishments that aren’t on these lists are additionally exhibiting indicators of pressure. Saint Augustine’s College in North Carolina, which is Episcopal, has 200 college students, down from 1,100 two years in the past, and has misplaced its accreditation. The 166-year-old St. Francis School in New York, which is Catholic, has sacked 1 / 4 of its workers. Catholic Saint Louis College in Missouri laid off 20 staff, eradicated 130 unfilled school and workers positions and bought off its medical observe after operating a deficit.

Bluffton College in Ohio, which is Mennonite, is on the lookout for a brand new accomplice after a deliberate merger fell via in February and the president resigned. Catholic St. Norbert School in Wisconsin is eliminating 11 majors and minors and 21 school positions. And Georgetown School in Kentucky averted closing solely after an alumnus gave it $16 million, which, together with one other $12 million in donations, was sufficient to repay crippling debt that was costing the small Baptist establishment $3 million a 12 months simply in curiosity.

Different religiously affiliated faculties are additionally taking steps to buttress themselves in opposition to demographic and monetary challenges. Ursuline School in Ohio, as an example, which has fewer than 1,000 college students, has agreed to merge with bigger Gannon College, 95 miles away. Each are Catholic. Spring Hill School in Alabama and Rockhurst College in Missouri, each additionally Catholic, are teaming up to allow them to collectively supply extra tutorial applications, although they’ll stay impartial.

Greater than a fifth of schools and universities in the USA, or 849 out of three,893, are religiously affiliated, based on the latest figures from the Nationwide Heart for Training Statistics.

The threats to them are getting new consideration. Presidents of 20 Catholic universities and schools met in November in Chicago at a convention sponsored by DePaul College and held on the places of work of the Deloitte consulting agency, which collected knowledge to assist them determine options to the challenges they face.

“The intent was to consider a blueprint for the way forward for Catholic greater schooling,” together with extra partnerships, shared providers and different kinds of alliances, mentioned Donna Carroll, president of the Affiliation of Catholic Faculties and Universities. “Survival of the fittest will not be the technique that can advance the frequent good of Catholic greater schooling. We’ve to work collectively.”

The American Council on Training final 12 months launched a Fee on Religion-Based mostly Faculties and Universities, with leaders of what has since grown to 17 establishments together with Pepperdine, Brigham Younger and Yeshiva universities and the College of Notre Dame.

The concept of the fee, which is scheduled to fulfill in Washington in June, is “to extend visibility for the essential contributions of non secular and faith-based schools and universities and to foster collaboration” amongst them.

Some spiritual schools and universities are doing effective, and even posting enrollment good points — at the least partially due to rising political divisions, campus protests and ideological assaults on secular establishments, mentioned David Hoag, president of the Council for Christian Faculties and Universities.

Dad and mom are “wanting to place their son or daughter at a secure place that’s going to have a biblical worldview or a manner to have a look at challenges that’s not polarized,” Hoag mentioned. “At our establishments, you’re not going to be seeing protests or issues which are occurring at many of those [other] universities and schools. You’re going to see them rallying collectively, whether or not it’s for a sporting occasion or for a revival or baptisms.”

Different developments additionally supply some hope to religiously affiliated schools and universities. A protracted decline within the proportion of adults who contemplate themselves affiliated with a faith seems to have leveled off, the Pew Analysis Heart finds. And whereas enrollment at parochial faculties that feed graduates to Catholic universities fell greater than 10 p.c from 2017 to 2021, the latest 12 months for which the determine is obtainable, the variety of college students at different kinds of non secular main and secondary faculties is up.

Even religiously affiliated establishments confronting the realities of falling enrollment and monetary woes fill a critically essential position, their advocates say. They typically serve low-income college students who’re the primary of their households to go to school and are reluctant to enroll at massive public universities.

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Many are in rural areas the place entry to greater schooling is extra restricted than in city and suburban locations and is changing into much less obtainable nonetheless as public universities in rural states have merged or closed or minimize dozens of majors.

Attending a small rural, religiously affiliated establishment “is, I feel — particularly for rural college students — an excellent alternative,” mentioned Todd Olson, president of Mount Mercy, above the sound of trains crossing Cedar Rapids exterior his window. “I do know youngsters from very small cities round Iowa,” just like the one the place he grew up, Olson mentioned. “This campus is a way more snug place for them.”

When Jacob Lange arrived at St. Ambrose from East Dubuque, Illinois, and attended a Mass on campus, “hastily all these new folks I had by no means met have been form of chatting with me and it was actually form of good. It felt like I used to be form of included and I didn’t actually suppose I might be initially,” he mentioned. “You work, ‘I’m in all probability going to sit down within the again and possibly not discuss to anybody all evening,’ after which I confirmed up, and I walked out right here and hastily they’re, like, ‘Right here, come be a part of our group.’ ”

His dad and mom additionally preferred that he determined to go to a Catholic college, Lange mentioned. “You understand, you go to one in every of these large faculties with 25,000 youngsters, and also you’re form of nervous about your child — like, what sort of dumb issues is he going to rise up to?”

Catholic universities specifically have a barely greater four-year commencement price than the nationwide common, based on the Heart for Catholic Research at St. Mary’s College in Texas. Graduates have a stronger sense of group function, the middle present in a survey. Alumni are 9 proportion factors extra prone to say they take part in civic actions.

Associated: See Hechinger’s record of all faculty closures since 2008

Extra college students at religiously affiliated than at secular establishments obtain monetary assist, the American Council on Training says. Three out of 5 get scholarships from the universities themselves, in comparison with fewer than one in 4 at different kinds of faculties. At each Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose, which have about 1,450 and a pair of,700 college students, respectively, 100% get monetary assist.

However these advantages for college students could be vulnerabilities for budgets, mentioned Novak, at St. Ambrose.

“We serve the poor. We educate the poor,” she mentioned. “That may be a dangerous monetary proposition in the intervening time for small, regional establishments which are largely tuition-driven.”

The threats to smaller religiously affiliated establishments in rural areas stem largely from the downturn within the already quick provide of highschool graduates selecting to enroll. The proportion of such college students going straight to school has fallen much more sharply in lots of largely rural states.

Whereas they’re beneficiant with their monetary assist, religiously affiliated schools are additionally usually dearer than many different greater schooling establishments, at a time when many households are questioning the return on their investments in tuition. Median tuition and charges common $25,416 a 12 months, based on the American Council on Training.

Associated: ‘Simple to only write us off’: Rural college students’ selections shrink as schools slash majors

St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy, about 90 minutes away, are teaming up from positions of relative energy. Publicly obtainable monetary paperwork counsel that neither faces the instant enrollment or monetary crises that threaten many comparable establishments. However their leaders say that they’re making an attempt to fend off issues that might come up later. By becoming a member of forces, every can improve its variety of applications whereas reducing administrative prices.

Response amongst college students and alumni has been combined.

Combining with St. Ambrose “was form of nerve-racking at the start as a result of it’s, like, ‘Oh, this can be a lot of change,’ ” mentioned Alaina Bina, a junior nursing main at Mount Mercy.

She picked the college within the first place as a result of she preferred the small, hilly campus.

“I got here from a small city, so I didn’t actually need to go greater,” she mentioned. “Even once I got here right here on a tour, folks would say ‘Hello’ to one another. You simply know everybody, and that’s form of how it’s in a small city, too.”

College students have been nervous about what identify would seem on their levels (the levels will nonetheless say “Mount Mercy”) and whether or not sports activities groups that when competed in opposition to one another can be merged. Novak and Olson promised to maintain their athletics applications separate and even add a sport at Mount Mercy: soccer, starting in 2026.

Combining sports activities groups “wouldn’t be clever in any respect from a enterprise perspective,” Olson mentioned the 2 agreed, as a result of they’re “a strong enrollment driver” for each faculties.

“Actually, this was in all probability the largest pupil concern,” mentioned Nasharia Patterson, pupil authorities president at Mount Mercy, who was carrying a brace on her wrist from an ungainly again tuck basket catch throughout cheer observe. Protecting the athletics groups “provides us a bit of Mount Mercy particularly to only maintain on to.”

Amongst alumni, in the meantime, “there’s combined emotions” about what’s occurring to their alma mater, mentioned Sarah Watson, a management growth guide who graduated from Mount Mercy in 2008.

Nonetheless, she mentioned, “I do know the good challenges that greater ed is dealing with proper now. It’s not simply Mount Mercy. It’s not simply St. Ambrose. It’s the larger faculties, too. Enrollment numbers have dropped. The will to go to a standard four-year faculty is simply not fairly what it was.”

For Mount Mercy, which was based by an order of nuns in 1928, Watson mentioned, “If we don’t do that, what’s the choice? We need to be round for an additional hundred years.”

In spite of everything, mentioned Novak, the St. Ambrose president, “to observe universities shut throughout the heartland as a result of we are able to’t make it work will depart our communities fallow.”

Carroll, of the Catholic schools and college affiliation, mentioned that many different religiously affiliated establishments are carefully watching what’s occurring at St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy.

“It’s a leap of religion,” she mentioned. “And who higher to take a leap of religion than a Catholic establishment?”

Contact author Jon Marcus at 212-678-7556 or jmarcus@hechingerreport.org.

This story about spiritual schools and universities was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, impartial information group centered on inequality and innovation in schooling. Join our greater schooling e-newsletter. Hearken to our greater schooling podcast.