UMass acquires Mount Ida College
Financial debt sinks institution
Mount Ida College is closing at the end of the spring term and handing over its prime 74-acre Newton campus to the University of Massachusetts in exchange for the system taking on the small private college’s debt.
Mount Ida’s 280 faculty and staff will be laid off after the commencement in mid-May, the school said.
The private liberal arts college’s 1,450 students will be automatically accepted for fall enrollment at UMass Dartmouth — more than 50 miles away — and given a path to finish their degrees there.
“The challenges for small colleges in the current economic and demographic landscape are significant,” Mount Ida President Barry Brown said in a statement. “Working with UMass, we have devised a way forward that ensures the well-being of our students, enhances the academic capacity of the region, and preserve’s Mount Ida’s legacy and history.”
Mergers and acquisitions of small private colleges have increased as the centers of higher education work through financial difficulties stemming from declining enrollment and redhot competition to attract students. In October, Wheelock College and Boston University agreed to merge. A previous deal between Mount Ida and Lasell College, also in Newton, broke down when the boards at both colleges couldn’t come to an agreement.
In its deal with Mount Ida, the University of Massachusetts is acquiring the college’s land and assets — which were valued at $54 million in 2016 — in exchange for assuming the college’s debt, which ranges from $55 million to $70 million, according to UMass officials.
UMass Amherst will transform the Mount Ida campus into a site for career prep programs for students seeking jobs in the Boston area.
The Newton campus will be known as the Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst and will cater to students studying health care, business, computer science and other STEM specialties.
The deal to acquire Mount Ida falls squarely within the university’s plans, said UMass President Marty Meehan.
“This agreement is consistent with the mission and strategic plans of UMass Dartmouth, UMass Amherst and the University of Massachusetts as a system,” Meehan said. “But most importantly, I am pleased that we are able to offer Mount Ida an opportunity to preserve a pathway to degree completion for its students.”
The deal to close Mount Ida College and establish new UMass operations at the site is subject to approval from the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, which works with the attorney general’s office to protect student’s ability to complete their degrees.
The UMass Dartmouth campus has the academic and residential capacity to accommodate the Mount Ida students, according to Chancellor Robert E. Johnson, who had previously served as president of Becker College, an institution similar in size and scope to Mount Ida.
“I want to assure Mount Ida students and their families that our students, faculty and staff stand ready with open arms to welcome them to our 710-acre, coastal academic community and provide a pathway to a Tier 1 national research university degree at the same or lower cost than they had planned,” Johnson said.
Massachusetts residents attending UMass Dartmouth pay $26,500 for tuition, room and board, while Mount Ida students shelled out $49,400.