When the only women's college in Kentucky announced last month that it would admit men as resident students for the first time, the president of Midway University indicated it was a move for survival in "challenging times for private higher education." His point was illustrated in another small Kentucky town today, as Saint Catharine College near Springfield announced that it would close next month.
In a press release, the chair of the Roman Catholic college's board blamed "the decline in overall enrollment, caused recently by the federal Department of Education's admitted wrongful withholding of student aid on several key academic programs," as well as the debt the college took on in building facilities such as "residence halls, a health-sciences building, and most recently a state-of-the-art library." Enrollment had declined to 475 from 600.
The Education Department acknowledged wrongfully withholding $42,671, but more than $1.1 million was at issue. "St. Catharine estimates it has spent roughly $660,000 of its own money on aid payments it argues the federal agency should have covered," Marcus Green reported for Louisville's WDRB-TV in March. In mediation, the agency refused to pay damages for harming the school's enrollment and reputation, the press release said.
The main issue was "whether the college needed to obtain federal approval to disburse financial aid to students enrolled in undergraduate degree programs that were added from 2011 to 2014. St. Catharine didn’t seek the approval, according to the lawsuit, because it did not believe those programs amounted to a substantial change in the college’s offerings," Green reported in February.
The college is home to a sustainable-farming program founded by author-farmer-poet Wendell Berry and his daughter Mary.
In a press release, the chair of the Roman Catholic college's board blamed "the decline in overall enrollment, caused recently by the federal Department of Education's admitted wrongful withholding of student aid on several key academic programs," as well as the debt the college took on in building facilities such as "residence halls, a health-sciences building, and most recently a state-of-the-art library." Enrollment had declined to 475 from 600.
The Education Department acknowledged wrongfully withholding $42,671, but more than $1.1 million was at issue. "St. Catharine estimates it has spent roughly $660,000 of its own money on aid payments it argues the federal agency should have covered," Marcus Green reported for Louisville's WDRB-TV in March. In mediation, the agency refused to pay damages for harming the school's enrollment and reputation, the press release said.
The main issue was "whether the college needed to obtain federal approval to disburse financial aid to students enrolled in undergraduate degree programs that were added from 2011 to 2014. St. Catharine didn’t seek the approval, according to the lawsuit, because it did not believe those programs amounted to a substantial change in the college’s offerings," Green reported in February.
The college is home to a sustainable-farming program founded by author-farmer-poet Wendell Berry and his daughter Mary.
from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/1WYMls7 St. Catharine College in Ky. says it will close, blames dispute with U.S. Department of Education - Entrepreneur Generations
Related Posts :
Agriculture leaders criticize proposed budget cuts - Entrepreneur Generations- Coal is seeing a 'Trump bump' but that doesn't mean a lot of mining jobs will return, experts say - Entrepreneur Generations
- McConnell on proposed elimination of Appalachian Regional Commission: 'Not going to happen' - Entrepreneur Generations
- Democrats see Trump's budget cuts as a way to win over rural areas, but budget has little GOP support - Entrepreneur Generations
- Great Plains wildfire victims get aid; Texas Panhandle weekly chronicled fires and their impact - Entrepreneur Generations
0 Response to "St. Catharine College in Ky. says it will close, blames dispute with U.S. Department of Education - Entrepreneur Generations"
Post a Comment