Columbia College to cut more than 100 positions in restructuring
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia College will slash its workforce as part of a restructuring meant to adapt to changes in higher education, the private college said in a statement Wednesday.
The cuts will affect 122 positions: 65 held by employees and 57 unfilled, according to the statement. Of those, 27 worked in Columbia.
The statement says the college will "retain and grow" 28 of its locations nationwide but move 17 to online-only. Columbia College has long touted itself as an institution friendly to military members and other non-traditional students with different class formats students can choose.
The moves are meant to reduce expenses to address budget shortfalls, the college says.
“These very difficult decisions were made after exploring every alternative as we reshape Columbia College,” President David Russell was quoted in the statement. “We believe these important steps will ensure a strong future for CC, with minimal impact or disruption to our students’ academic pursuits.”
Employees will get severance packages, career counseling and employment resources, Columbia College says. The college will also honor its Employee Educational Grant for affected employees.
The college says the changes are in response to a drop in the population of high school graduates, along with increased competition in higher education. Part of the restructuring will include creating more than 20 new academic programs in high-demand fields, the college says.
Russell was quoted saying the move will set the college up for the future. It was founded in 1851.
In 2020, the college laid off 49 people across its 36 campuses nationwide. Twenty five worked in Columbia. At the time, then-President Scott Dalrymple said the college was in an "enviable" financial position overall, but college leaders "must be good stewards of our resources”
Columbia College isn't the only school that has had to make cuts in recent weeks.
Christain Brothers University, Delta State University, Lane Community College, Miami University, St. Norbert College, and Shepard University have all announced that they are facing budget deficits and will be cutting employees and programs as a result.
Poor enrollment numbers were cited by some of those schools as the reasons for cuts.
Columbia College did not mention enrollment as the reason for the cuts. Last year, the college welcomed 298 new students in its fall class, which was its largest enrollment class in the last five years. This year the number of new freshmen enrolled was down slightly, however, a spokesman for Columbia College told ABC 17 News that this year the school's total enrollment is on par with last year's total.
