Notre Dame College (NDC), a Catholic liberal arts college in South Euclid, Ohio, has announced that it will cease operations after the spring 2024 semester. The college, which was founded in 1922 by the Sisters of Notre Dame, has been struggling with enrollment and debt issues for a long time.
The chair of the NDC’s board of trustees, Terri Bradford Eason, said in a statement that they had explored every possible option to save the college, including refinancing debt, seeking federal aid, launching a fundraising campaign, and pursuing two potential merger or acquisition partners. However, none of these efforts were enough to close the financial gap and meet the debt obligations.
“We evaluated every possible option to continue the mission of Notre Dame College. Our primary focus has been to ensure our students can successfully continue their education, graduate, and – in the tradition of the Sisters of Notre Dame – live a life of personal, professional and global responsibility.”
The board of trustees also said that they had secured agreements with nine other colleges and universities to help the current students of Notre Dame College continue their education through a “teach-out program” or as transfer students. These partner institutions will accept the credits and offer comparable tuition to Notre Dame College students who are in good standing and have at least 60 completed credits.
The partner institutions are Baldwin Wallace University, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kent State University, Lake Erie College, Ursuline College, Walsh University, and Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania.
The college has about 1,370 students, of whom 900 are undergraduates. A Partner School Fair will be held on March 13 to help the students “determine their best path forward”. The duration for the event is from 12:30 to 5:00 pm and will take place in the Keller Gymnasium.
The closure of Notre Dame College is a sad and unfortunate outcome for the college community and the region. The college has been a part of the educational and social fabric of Northeast Ohio for almost a century, offering academic programs and services to a diverse and underserved population of students.
