Small Colleges, Big Challenges

A 2019 WBUR series that gives an in-depth look at the pressures facing small private colleges in Massachusetts and how they are adapting to change.

Pine Manor College in Brookline. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Under Financial Stress, Pine Manor College To Join Boston College

A memorandum of understanding between the two schools paves the way to create the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success at Boston College. Once established, the institute will coordinate Boston...

WBUR News

05:31May 13, 2020

The Massachusetts State House. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

When College Finances Falter, Mass. Lawmakers Want More Leverage

The bill would permit the state’s appointed Board of Higher Education to designate colleges as “at risk of imminent closure” based on regular financial screenings. And affected institutions would have...

WBUR News

05:19Oct 29, 2019

When Campus Is A Computer Screen: How One Small School Found Financial Success Online

Simmons University was one of the first small colleges to devote real resources to online education. Its strategic decisions around that move have paid off, but officials say going online...

WBUR News

04:26Oct 25, 2019

A building at Newbury College in Brookline, which is set to close this Spring. (Courtesy Newbury College via Facebook)

With Small Colleges Closing, How Should Families Think About Choosing A School?

Mount Ida College closed abruptly last year, and then Newbury College in Brookline, followed by three schools in Vermont.

Radio Boston

17:58Oct 24, 2019

A College Specializes In Medicine And Health — And Finds Itself Revived

Over the course of the past decade, Regis has escaped an enrollment trap by becoming a university with a diversified base of students, with the majority focused on nursing or...

WBUR News

05:20Oct 24, 2019

Serving First-Generation Students May Be Key To One Small College's Survival

At small colleges in New England, eyes are on enrollment. And at a time when the region's population is expected to grow both older and more diverse, Pine Manor College...

WBUR News

05:39Oct 23, 2019

Wheelock College President David Chard in his office. (Max Larkin/WBUR)

Leader Of Merged BU-Wheelock Education School On What Lessons The Merger Brings

David Chard, former president of Wheelock College, told us about the highs and lows of the school's merger with Boston University and what other schools might take from it.

WBUR News

06:04Oct 22, 2019

What's Gained — And Lost — When Small Colleges Merge

One way for colleges in financial trouble to stay open is to combine resources and merge with another school. But these partnerships are complicated and often come with strings attached.