Dive Brief:
- Urbana University will be purchased by another Columbus, OH, school, Franklin University, to avoid closure.
- Urbana, a liberal-arts school with 1,800 students, has significant debt and is in such dire financial straits that it had to merge or risk closing, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
- Under the terms of the purchase, Urbana will become a division of Franklin, but it will keep its name and offer the same academic and athletic programs.
Dive Insight:
Expect to see more mergers and acquisitions of this type, with small liberal-arts schools on the most endangered list in today’s economic climate. Financial details of the arrangement were not disclosed, but the Franklin board of trustees will now oversee Urbana, and Urbana’s president will report to the Franklin president. Franklin does not plan to increase Urbana’s tuition, but that could change. Franklin, which serves mostly commuter and online students, will benefit from an expansion into a new student population. Urbana has six off-campus sites.
