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Diving overview:
- Concordia University Ann Arbor plans to: Cuts to dozens of on-campus and online programsAccording to a recent message sent to campus: Leah Dvorak, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Concordia.
- Starting in June 2025, the private Lutheran institution will offer only nine programs in health-related fields on its physical campus. This is down from the 53 on-campus programs the university currently lists on its website. We plan to offer another seven online programs, primarily in the education field. That's down from over 60 now..
- Students who choose to remain in the program can complete it online or at Concordia's Wisconsin campus, which is more than 360 miles away. Dvorak noted that many of the university's undergraduate courses are already offered online through the Wisconsin campus..
Dive Insights:
Concordia University Wisconsin acquired the Ann Arbor institution in 2013 at a time when the institution was struggling.
Ann Arbor's largest lender, the Michigan Church Extension Fund, was considering whether the institution would close its doors and was considering a possible merger with Concordia University Wisconsin.This is probably the last opportunity this school will ever have,” the fund's board chairman said last year during a historic debate on the merger.
More than a decade after the merger, the Ann Arbor campus is still struggling. According to Berg's April message, the deficit reached $9 million in the most recent fiscal year and the board, along with an outside consultant, determined it could not “generate sufficient ancillary revenue to sustain its current cost structure.”
The Board of Trustees explored whether Ann Arbor could become an autonomous university within the Concordia system. But it decidesd in june The Ann Arbor campus was unable to operate on its own due to governance issues and limited financial resources.
Before the program cuts were finalized, Concordia's board of trustees voted to “operate with a carefully curated portfolio of academic programs” after the 2024-25 school year, said board Chairman John Berg. campus message Early this month.
The board cited widespread “unprecedented challenges” in the higher education sector, including demographic changes, enrollment pressures and high inflation.
Unlike many institutions currently undergoing painful restructuring, Ann Arbor's enrollment has increased. Between 2017 and 2022, fall semester seats increased 11.3%, bringing the number of students on campus to 1,203, according to federal data. And that number has increased by more than 80% since 2010.
According to Dvorak, the Ann Arbor campus is working to establish educational partnerships with other institutions when students choose not to complete their programs through Concordia.