Wisconsin's private colleges face grim reality: Adapt or die

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Edgewood College campus

Private nonprofit colleges in Wisconsin have faced a stark reality after a string of closures and tough fiscal realities: They'll need to adapt their programming to better fit industry needs and cut budgets in the meantime. Many of the state's private colleges have taken these steps in recent years as the vast majority of showed they lost money during the 2023 fiscal year, according to publicly available tax filings.

AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Edgewood College campus

When Edgewood College President Andrew Manion arrived at the institution in 2020, he had tough choices to make and ultimately cut seven tenured faculty members. But the school couldn't cut to prosperity and needed to diversity its offerings, he said. "Any school that is entirely reliant upon traditional-age, undergraduate students right now is struggling to try to figure out where their future revenue is going to come from," he said.

AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

Edgewood College campus

Edgewood College was one of the private nonprofit colleges that lost money in fiscal year 2023, according to tax documents. It lost about $565,000, but it also fared better than most in Wisconsin, whose deficits ranged from $88,000 to $13 million. The college plans to change its name later this year to better reflect what it offers and add more programs in health care and online graduate studies.

AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL

KIMBERLY WETHAL

Wisconsin’s private colleges are shifting course and cutting staff as they cater to in-demand industries in an effort to survive the same financial headwinds plaguing public universities.

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