Sacred Heart withdraws from consortium

But Goodwin still committed to project based at UB campus

Sacred Heart University announced Monday that it is withdrawing from an educational collaboration centered around the University of Bridgeport, though Goodwin University, the project’s primary partner, said it remains committed.

The University of Bridgeport, Sacred Heart in Fairfield, Goodwin University in East Hartford and Paier College of Art in Hamden announced plans in late June to create a consortium at the University of Bridgeport campus.

The collaboration would enable students to take courses from different schools at one physical location, while allowing the participating institutions to benefit from shared expenses.

Goodwin University President Mark E. Scheinberg said Monday that Goodwin, which from the outset had the largest share of the collaboration, remains committed to its vision of a new educational partnership. Goodwin plans to take on all programming at the University of Bridgeport, with the exception of programs related to art and design, which Paier will acquire.

“We’re very bullish on this. We’re very committed to the relationship, we’re very committed to the city, we’re looking forward to the synergies between us and the University of Bridgeport,” Scheinberg said. “There are so many programs that will be wonderful up here. Could you imagine if they do some of their engineering programs in East Hartford, right next door to Pratt & Whitney? Can you imagine if we turned around and could do some of our manufacturing programs down in Bridgeport?”

Scheinberg noted that Sacred Heart was already “down to a small piece” of the consortium and that the university’s withdrawal will help simplify the accreditation process for Goodwin and Paier.

Sacred Heart President John Petillo said in a message Monday to the university community that the university could not continue with the collaboration due to concerns about the projected finances of the project.

“The enrollment projections, and the corresponding financial projections, provided to us by UB’s principal lender and its consulting firm when the letter of intent was signed, did not materialize,” Petillo said. “Upon inquiry and verification by SHU, the enrollment numbers turned out to be significantly less than what wewere led to believe.”

Sacred Heart made an additional offer, in line with the new projections, which was turned down, according to Petillo.

Sacred Heart initially planned to acquire a number of the University of Bridgeport’s programs outright, including two doctorate programs in engineering, a doctorate in chiropractic, a graduate program in nutrition, a new program in counselor education and education certificates. But that plan was later reduced to just the nutrition and chiropractic programs.

“Admittedly, this was a complicated arrangement with many partners, but we were hopeful that we could make it work for all involved,” Petillo said. “In the end, an upside may be that our pulling out makes it less complicated for everyone else to move forward.”

Scheinberg, whoexpects the details of the collaboration to be finalized by the end of 2020, added that Goodwin views the University of Bridgeport as a “kindred spirit,” since both universities offer professional programs and both have similar demographics, with students of color composing roughly half of the student body.

The University of Bridgeport and Paier College of Art did not immediately respond to requests for comment.