2008 Woodie Awards
Antioch closing represents shift in higher education
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Editorials
Facing major financial problems and decreasing enrollment, the Board of Trustees of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio has decided to close its doors for at least a year until funding sources can be reconciled and faculty secured. Representing an alternative approach to education, the Antioch curriculum combines practical work experience with non-letter grades to provide a unique and dynamic college experience. While a large-scale alumnus fundraising drive and legal challenges were launched, recent disagreements have sealed the current fate of Antioch. Recognizing both the positives and negatives of the college's closing, The Miami Student editorial board believes that the situation is a valuable learning experience for interdisciplinary and unique academic programs facing cutbacks or demise, such as Miami University's Western College Program.
In the wake of this decision, it is important to keep in mind that it's an extremely unfortunate situation for the students that were attracted to this type of schooling and now have been let down by the Antioch administration. With the seemingly inevitable erasures of programs such as Antioch, Beloit College's independent education program and our own Western Campus Program, it begs the question of whether alternative education programs are viable in the first place. This board agrees that even if such programs need to be modified, they are an invaluable learning experience and the solution should not be to simply end the opportunities that they offer.
However, the decision to close the college for any amount of time presents enormous consequences-namely that there will be difficulties marketing the college to prospective students after the school loses faculty and revamps its academic plan. The over-reliance on tuition fees poses a threat to the school's viability, should it re-open. An expensive school in a competitive college market where public schools have capped tuition increases under Gov. Ted Strickland's higher education initiatives means that the school must offer a product that matches the cost of enrollment and it must draw enough students to keep the college open in the long-run. Additionally, without the tradition of a large endowment for the school to rely on, it is questionable whether the school could change its fundraising focus to become less reliant on tuition. At a point, economic common sense has to take over when a college's student population has decreased from 2,000 students to fewer than 400 in a 40-year time span that coincides with a record number of high school graduates going to college.
Even with the network of other Antioch schools on the West and East Coasts, this closure represents a loss for a less traditional method of teaching that caters to a specific group of students. Especially important in Ohio, Antioch offered students the chance to experience alternative schooling without having to leave the region to achieve their desired educational paths. Also, the college played an important and vital role in the functioning of the community life and economy. For such a small college town, the loss of even only a couple hundred students and faculty will have extremely negative impacts on Yellow Spring's survivability, especially when a national and state recession is already looming. As troubling as the event is, it is a lesson that unique programs in higher education should learn from.
In the wake of this decision, it is important to keep in mind that it's an extremely unfortunate situation for the students that were attracted to this type of schooling and now have been let down by the Antioch administration. With the seemingly inevitable erasures of programs such as Antioch, Beloit College's independent education program and our own Western Campus Program, it begs the question of whether alternative education programs are viable in the first place. This board agrees that even if such programs need to be modified, they are an invaluable learning experience and the solution should not be to simply end the opportunities that they offer.
However, the decision to close the college for any amount of time presents enormous consequences-namely that there will be difficulties marketing the college to prospective students after the school loses faculty and revamps its academic plan. The over-reliance on tuition fees poses a threat to the school's viability, should it re-open. An expensive school in a competitive college market where public schools have capped tuition increases under Gov. Ted Strickland's higher education initiatives means that the school must offer a product that matches the cost of enrollment and it must draw enough students to keep the college open in the long-run. Additionally, without the tradition of a large endowment for the school to rely on, it is questionable whether the school could change its fundraising focus to become less reliant on tuition. At a point, economic common sense has to take over when a college's student population has decreased from 2,000 students to fewer than 400 in a 40-year time span that coincides with a record number of high school graduates going to college.
Even with the network of other Antioch schools on the West and East Coasts, this closure represents a loss for a less traditional method of teaching that caters to a specific group of students. Especially important in Ohio, Antioch offered students the chance to experience alternative schooling without having to leave the region to achieve their desired educational paths. Also, the college played an important and vital role in the functioning of the community life and economy. For such a small college town, the loss of even only a couple hundred students and faculty will have extremely negative impacts on Yellow Spring's survivability, especially when a national and state recession is already looming. As troubling as the event is, it is a lesson that unique programs in higher education should learn from.
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