RELATED: Antioch University president talks building sale and move
The move comes as the university is refocusing its programs and business model, Groves said. Antioch, Groves said, will begin offering more online and “hybrid” courses than programs that require constant travel to a campus.
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“This is a model that Antioch University helped pioneer,” Groves said in his letter. “With the demands for more flexible pedagogy, we must also re-think how we use our facilities to best meet our students’ needs.”
Officials from Antioch University and Yellow Springs Exempted Village Schools have discussed the idea of the Antioch building becoming a district school, said superintendent Mario Basora. But, the school district has no plans to buy the property at this time, Basora said.
Antioch University Midwest has around 500 students enrolled and is located at 900 Dayton St. in Yellow Springs, across the street from the village’s high school. Antioch University administrators could not be reached to comment on Wednesday.
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The Antioch University relocation will be done in a way so students’ studies are not disturbed, Groves said. A meeting where details of the move will be discussed is scheduled for Thursday.
The sale of Antioch’s building, Groves said, is part of “our ongoing work to refine our academic strategy and align our campus facilities, accordingly.”
“The world needs Antioch University now more than ever, and together we will make certain that Antioch University long continues its 165-year mission of effecting victories for humanity,” Groves said.
Antioch University Midwest isn’t the only campus up for sale in the Dayton area.
Wilberforce University announced in January that it was looking to sell about 10 acres of campus, including two buildings, for $7 million. Rather than relocating, Wilberforce officials put part of campus up for sale so they could use the money to pay off some of the school’s debt.
Aside from the building announcement, Groves also said that the university is seeing an increase in enrollment, that accreditation for its programs is secure through 2024 and that the school has already raised $1.2 million in its three-year, $5 million fundraising campaign. The school is also expected to exceed its revenue target by 3.5 percent, according to the letter.
In February, the Higher Learning Commission, a regional college accrediting body, noted some concerns it had with student learning assessment, finances and institutional research at Antioch.
While those concerns have all been resolved, the HLC will return to Antioch in 2018 as part of a regularly scheduled evaluation, Groves said.
Almost one year ago, Antioch University announced it would disband its boards of trustees at all five of its U.S. campuses while making major leadership changes as part of a reorganization. The universities are now governed directly by a system-wide Board of Governors instead of individual boards of trustees at the five schools.
The reorganization also included the elimination of campus presidents in Yellow Springs, New England, Los Angeles, Seattle and Santa Barbara, according to a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The private, non-profit Antioch University system, including the Yellow Springs campus, separated from the historic liberal arts college now known at Antioch College around a decade ago.
By the numbers
Antioch University in Yellow Springs is looking to tap into the Dayton market for higher education. Below are the school’s enrollment numbers and figures from its history.
500: Aapproximate number of students enrolled at AUM.
4,000: Number of students enrolled in all of Antioch University's schools.
1852: The year Antioch University began as Antioch College.
2008: The year Antioch University closed its residential campus due to enrollment and finances.
2011: Antioch College re-opened as a separate institution but with a "shared heritage."
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