Students will still be able to attend the university and can transfer credits to other universities, according to the HLC. The HLC accredits most of the universities in Ohio.
The HLC said the university specifically did not meet “criterion 4, Core Component 4.B, ‘Resource Base and Sustainability’,” during its accreditation review. The university was up to be re-accredited this fall, a process that universities have to undergo periodically to make sure they are in compliance with laws and standards.
Wittenberg will need to submit documents to the HLC with a plan to get out of the situation and its status will be reconsidered no later than April 2027.
“What this means for Wittenberg University at the moment is what we have known for some time: our financial challenges are real, but they are not insurmountable,” said Karen Gerboth, vice president of marketing and communications at Wittenberg. “We are still an accredited institution, and this decision reflects where we have been, not where we are going under our new president’s inspiring leadership and direction.”
Christian M. M. Brady became the university’s president over the summer.
Gerboth said in the last six months, the university has “worked to develop” about $11 million in unrestricted funds. She said the university’s enrollment numbers and fundraising efforts are also headed in the right direction.
“We are confident in our future, and we are fully prepared to work closely with the commission in resolving the issue identified as expeditiously as possible,” Gerboth said.
Gerboth said total enrollment for Wittenberg currently stands at 1,039 students.
Ongoing financial issues
In February, the HLC gave Wittenberg a “financial distress” designation following an audit from the U.S. Department of Education that “raised substantial doubt about the institution’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Last year, Wittenberg University’s board of directors approved a plan that would eliminate the jobs of 30 faculty and 45 staff.
In September, university leaders announced that the reductions would actually impact about 40 people — the jobs of 24 full-time equivalent faculty and 45 full-time equivalent staff members were being eliminated, but some employees were being assigned to open positions.
The small, liberal arts university is facing many of the same challenges as other smaller, private colleges. Fewer people are graduating from high school, and even fewer are choosing to attend college. For those who are attending college, price is often a main factor in deciding where to go, and private universities are generally more expensive than public ones, unless financial aid levels the playing field.
Combine those factors with the financial challenges of the COVID pandemic, and many small colleges are facing a perfect storm. In the past few years in Ohio, Urbana University and Notre Dame College in Cleveland are among those that have closed.
However, Wittenberg faculty who spoke to the Dayton Daily News said building projects, including a $50 million sports complex originally estimated at $40 million when it broke ground in 2017 also contributed to the current financial problems.
