Narrowly avoiding closure, Northland College to stay open under new, smaller model

In a surprising turn of events, Northland College will keep its doors open come fall under a new and smaller model with fewer majors.

The environmental liberal arts institution in Ashland announced a last-ditch fundraising campaign in March, saying it would shutter at the end of this school year if it couldn't raise $12 million in less than a month.

“It is not lost on us that today’s announcement could have gone a very different direction,” Northland College Board of Trustees chairperson Ted Bristol said in a statement. “Many colleges like Northland are being forced to make difficult decisions and we’ve seen many closures in recent years — even in recent weeks. We feel fortunate to be sharing a path forward despite the realities of declining enrollment and rising costs.”

Under the "refocused" model, Northland will offer eight majors, including business, biology, education, psychology and four programs associated with the environment. That's down from the 42 academic programs currently listed on its website.

The college will also "right-size" its employee base to save $7 million, though how many jobs will be cut was unclear.

Also unclear was how much Northland fundraised. The school said "several million dollars in additional funding" were secured to bridge the short-term deficit, though it wasn't clear if this referred to a loan or gifts.

A college spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions sent Wednesday evening.

With 439 students currently, Northland has faced several years of declining enrollment and budget deficits. But officials said long-range projections under their new model "puts the College on track for long-term stability."

Northland College delayed decision on closure twice

The decision announced Wednesday put an end to a seven-week period of stress, speculation and uncertainty for the campus.

Mallary Bade, a Northland sophomore studying outdoor education and writing, remembered joking with friends about the college announcing its closure as a possibility ahead of the ominous meeting university leaders called the campus to on March 11.

Then the punch line briefly became a version of reality. Northland made the alarming announcement it needed to raise $12 million in 24 days. The money would buy the college another year to find a more sustainable business model.

The campus and broader Ashland community offered their own ideas to salvage the institution. A faculty group proposed reducing enrollment to 350 students, cutting some employees and renting out underused campus spaces to the community for housing or business use.

Underclassmen, meanwhile, contemplated their futures. Bade said she hoped to remain at Northland if her academic programs remained but she said some other students started looking at transfer options.

An announcement on closure was expected in early April. The board instead declared a financial emergency delayed the decision another 2½ weeks, vowing to use the extra time to explore all options.

The campus commuity then expected a decision in late April. The board delayed again, saying it was "hopeful about the future" after some last-minute donations materialized.

Ashland-based college is tiny, focused on environmental studies

Surrounded by forests and located along the shore of Lake Superior, Northland College was founded by members of the United Church of Christ. The only local four-year educational option in Ashland, it has been a part of the community since 1892. The school has focused its programming on the environment and sustainability.

That's what drew Kaelin Hall, a 2020 Northland graduate who studied geology. She grew up in the suburbs of the Twin Cities but fell in with the Ashland area during her time as a student. She is now an Ashland resident.

Hall recalled Northland facing some financial challenges back when she was a student but nothing beyond the normal headwinds of higher education.

"It was always on the periphery," Hall said of the school's financial stressors. "Northland is a small school. It’s a niche school. But it never seemed when I was a student there that it was outside the norm. This was just part of higher education."

Unlike Northland, other Wisconsin colleges or campuses that have announced closures over the past two years did so with little warning. These include UW-Platteville Richland, Cardinal Stritch University, UW-Milwaukee at Washington County, UW-Oshkosh Fond du Lac, UW-Green Bay Marinette and UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha.

“The reality is that Northland has been struggling for a long time to find a sustainable solution despite aggressively exploring options,” the college said on a webpage established during the fundraising push. “Northland is not alone in this struggle. Colleges and universities — especially private institutions — across the country are facing immense financial strain.”

Northland College faced years of financial challenges

There were, however, some clues about Northland facing stressors beyond other institutions' challenges.

Northland spent down the majority of its endowment in recent years, ran budget deficits in nine of the last 10 years and was under financial monitoring by the U.S. Education Department. A 2022 audit underscored Northland's precarious position, noting its "ability to continue" was a "going concern."

Federal education data show Northland's enrollment held relatively small but steady over the past decade, with between 500 to 600 students attending. But enrollment dropped this school year to 439 students, according to the college.

The economies of scale are particularly challenging for small colleges. Regardless of an institution's size, the same jobs must be carried out − payroll, IT, fundraising, human resources, marketing and more. Maintaining each of these administration functions is more difficult when there are fewer students to fund them.

Northland College President Chad Dayton, in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel interview last year, had expressed optimism about Northland rounding the corner after enduring significant leadership turnover and "catastrophic" cuts to the college's fundraising and marketing departments. He said the school had revamped its budget process, stopped drawing from its endowment and was trying new admissions strategies.

Still, he called the next two years “critical” to turning the tide.

"We’re rebuilding," he said. "But it’s fragile. Northland is in a fragile moment."

For now, Northland made it through the moment. Bade credits the school's professors for pushing to salvage the school. Their dedication over the past month and a half left her in awe.

"A school as special as Northland, the spirit won’t die down," Bade said.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Northland College in Wisconsin to remain open under new, smaller model