Dive Transient:
- St. Ambrose College, a Roman Catholic school in japanese Iowa, plans to purchase close by Mount Mercy College, with the 2 establishments anticipating to keep up distinct campuses and tutorial packages as soon as mixed.
- Beneath the deal, which the 2 establishments solid as a “strategic mixture,” St. Ambrose is ready to change into the nonprofit mother or father group of Mount Mercy in summer time 2025, based on a Thursday announcement. Regulatory and accreditor approvals are wanted for the transfer.
- Mount Mercy will retain its title, turning into the Mount Mercy Campus of St. Ambrose College. In an FAQ, officers stated the deal may allow the 2 establishments to share sources and cut back prices, in hopes of passing on these financial savings to college students and households.
Dive Perception:
St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy have related missions and traits, with the 2 Roman Catholic establishments each positioned roughly 80 miles aside in japanese Iowa. Nevertheless, St. Ambrose confirmed practically twice the enrollment within the 2023-24 tutorial 12 months — 2,703 college students versus 1,449 at Mount Mercy.
“Our cultures are actually very related, very suitable with each other,” Mount Mercy President Todd Olson stated in an interview “We’re each Catholic establishments, we’re each centered on assembly the wants of our local people on the similar time that we’ve a broader attain than that.”
Olson famous that the establishments have college students from across the U.S. and world.
Headcounts have not too long ago declined at each establishments, based on federal information. St. Ambrose enrolled 2,747 college students in fall 2022, down 25.2% from a decade in the past. Over that very same interval, enrollment fell 15.7% at Mount Mercy to 1,526 college students.
Nevertheless, Olson stated he noticed potential for development within the establishments’ graduate packages. Officers are additionally contemplating including some new undergraduate majors and athletics packages, he stated.
Within the FAQ, officers stated the deal’s most important aim is to increase instructional entry to each traditional-age and grownup learners, who’re usually thought-about 25 and older.
“The fee financial savings and operational efficiencies that may outcome from a strategic mixture will permit each campuses to proceed to develop their choices and improve their pupil experiences, quite than persevering with reductions and cutbacks, which has been an all too frequent actuality on many school campuses over the previous few years,” the FAQ stated.
For example, officers are taking a look at smoothing pathways for his or her undergraduates into graduate packages provided at both campuses, Olson stated. The schools may increase a few of their graduate packages to each campuses.
“As a result of we’re in two completely different metro areas, we’ve the chance to launch second websites of a few of our superb graduate packages within the different metropolis,” Olson stated. “We imagine that’s a great development alternative, we imagine it meets the wants of the native workforce.”
The 2 establishments didn’t share what tuition charges would seem like as soon as the deal is accomplished, though the FAQ stated any adjustments could be communicated to college students. Each are dedicated to offering “beneficiant help packages,” based on the doc.
Olson stated he doesn’t anticipate “dramatic adjustments” to tuition costs. “I see us type of within the vary we’re in now,” he added.
The schools record related sticker costs — St. Ambrose places tuition for full-time residential college students at $36,378 within the 2024-25 tutorial 12 months, in comparison with $39,878 at Mount Mercy.
The acquisition may have two phases. The primary is predicted to be accomplished in summer time 2025, when St. Ambrose will change into the mother or father group of Mount Mercy.
Then, throughout a roughly one-year transition interval, St. Ambrose will function Mount Mercy as a separate college with its personal accreditation and participation in federal pupil help packages. After that, the 2 establishments will “be absolutely mixed underneath St. Ambrose.”
The FAQ acknowledged that combining the 2 establishments would “end in some personnel adjustments.”
“As soon as we enter our regulatory ‘transition’ part, some leaders will transfer into transitionary roles the place they may advise major college leaders,” officers stated within the FAQ. “Upon full mixture, a brand new organizational construction can be put into place to make sure operational efficiencies.”
Leaders from each universities are working by means of the best way to set up the establishments, Olson stated.
“We’ll see how this works out,” Olson stated. “The central factor I am centered on is seeing that we make this transition work in addition to potential, and that we protect the mission of each our universities as we mix into one, and that we hold the central concentrate on our college students.”
