Another small Massachusetts college is shutting its doors, underscoring the mounting strain on tuition-dependent schools across the state and New England.
Anna Maria College in Paxton announced Thursday that it will close at the end of the summer, citing declining enrollment and deepening financial pressure. The decision comes just days after Hampshire College in Amherst said it would close in December, marking the second such announcement this month.
Founded more than 80 years ago, Anna Maria, a Catholic college just outside Worcester, had long served a niche population — students pursuing careers in public safety and athletics. But the school struggled to sustain itself in a shrinking market.
“I am profoundly grateful for the commitment of every member of this community,” said Anna Maria President Sean J. Ryan in a statement, adding that the school’s immediate focus would be helping students complete their degrees or transfer elsewhere.
The move wasn’t a total surprise. Earlier this month, state officials warned that the college, with an endowment of roughly $1.5 million and debts exceeding $18 million, was operating on shaky financial ground.
“This was all out in public,” said Robert Kelchen, a professor of higher education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The surprise, he said, was not the outcome but the timing.
“The only surprising thing was announcing closing essentially two weeks before graduation,” he said, noting students and staff are left scrambling to figure out what comes next.
Research has consistently found that students affected by college closures are significantly less likely to complete their degrees.
The college said graduating seniors will be able to finish, and that it has arranged transfer agreements with partner institutions for undergraduates who must continue elsewhere.
For years, Anna Maria’s brand included catering to future police officers, firefighters, and athletes for its large sports programs. Many small colleges also turn to athletics to maintain enrollment.
On Thursday, speaking at Boston College, Charlie Baker, the former governor of Massachusetts and now president of the NCAA, suggested exactly that, saying college sports could help institutions stabilize enrollment.
“I actually think part of the reason people are spending money on sports, in many cases, is because sports build brand and brand matters,” Baker said.
However, analysts like Kelchen remain skeptical that such approaches can offset broader demographic and financial headwinds.
“The sweaty-butts-in-seats strategy is pretty common,” he said. “Many small colleges are 30% or more athletes.”
The problem, Kelchen added, is that programs that offer athletic and academic scholarships to attract students can be expensive to run and strain already fragile finances.
Over the past 10 years, Massachusetts has seen at least 11 colleges close or merge, giving it the rather dubious honor of being first in the nation for college closings.
A recent report out this month found roughly 65% of four-year colleges nationwide are struggling to meet enrollment targets. And in Massachusetts, where the number of traditional college-age students is declining, the pressures are particularly acute.
