Dive Brief:
- Pomona College will become the parent institution of Claremont Graduate University in a deal that is expected to close in June 2027, the two Southern California institutions announced Monday.
- Under the arrangement, Pomona will have governance authority over “major institutional decisions” at CGU. However, the two said CGU will continue operating as a distinct institution led by its own board and senior officials.
- The announcement comes nearly a year after the two publicly shared that they were negotiating an agreement. CGU, which has faced enrollment declines and is grappling with an operating deficit, had begun looking for a partner to help it become more financially sustainable.
Dive Insight:
According to a Pomona FAQ on the deal, the college will provide "financial and strategic" expertise to CGU, which is restructuring its academic portfolio and cutting costs to address its budget deficit. CGU will also gain access to "favorable terms" for financing through its affiliation with Pomona, the FAQ said.
Pomona is not taking on CGU’s debts and liabilities, nor is it planning to use its operating budget to fund the graduate university’s operations, according to the FAQ. CGU will also pay for administrative services from Pomona.
The graduate university has been struggling financially, with a $7.8 million budget deficit projected for this fiscal year. Earlier this month, it announced it would offer voluntary buyouts to faculty and staff to help close the gap.
The voluntary buyouts come on the heels of an academic overhaul at CGU, which plans to consolidate five schools and two centers into just three academic units. Those will be organized around three subject areas: management and technology; education, health and psychology; and arts humanities and mathematics.
According to the FAQ, Pomona serves as a “thought partner” to CGU’s leadership on the academic transformation and has made outside advisers available to the graduate university. Both institutions must accept the academic overhaul plan that CGU is developing before the deal closes.
CGU has struggled with enrollment. In fall 2024, it enrolled 1,771 students, down 18% from a decade prior, according to federal data. Pomona is similarly sized, with 1,700 students in fall 2024. However, that marks a 3% increase from a decade before.
Pomona also has the stronger finances of the two. In fiscal 2025, it logged a $16.9 million operating surplus on $258.5 million of revenue, according to its latest publicly available financial audit. It also ended the year with $3.8 billion in assets.
CGU, on the other hand, had an operating surplus of $4.6 million in fiscal 2025 on $68.8 million in revenue. It ended the year with $290 million in assets.
Both institutions are part of The Claremont Colleges, a consortium of seven higher education institutions on 600 acres of connected land.
“As the founding member of the Consortium, Pomona has a lasting interest in its strength and stability,” the college said in the FAQ. “This affiliation keeps graduate education in Claremont connected to an institution committed to the Consortium’s mission and collaborative model.”
The deal is pending regulatory and accreditor approval, as well as sign off from Claremont Colleges for CGU to continue being a member of the consortium.
