Local University Flagged in “At Risk” IL & MO Private Colleges

Fontbonne University in St. Louis is closing at the end of the current school year (2025). Lincoln Christian College and Northwestern College closed in Illinois this year. Post secondary schooling is in the midst of change.

Now the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis has released a “Watch list” of private colleges and universities in the region that are “at risk” per recent financial scores accreditation reports. This list includes Quincy University.

Other Local Schools on the List

The list also includes: Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., Webster University in St. Louis, Rockhurst University in Kansas City, and Columbia College in Columbia, Mo. Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Mo., and Maryville University in the St. Louis area amongst many others.

Questions arose earlier this year (20241) regarding the stability of QU in the wake of the reality of Fontbonne. Quincy University has offered Fontbonne students an opportunity to transfer to continue their studies. Also, Enrollment at QU has been fairly steady and work continues on growth at the north campus.

Postsecondary schooling is undergoing a necessary alteration. The Illinois School Board of Higher Education began the conversation about public state schools becoming too similar and perhaps needing to return to the core areas of study that each school started on as a focus. Enrollments declined, and tuition was being raised—that was even before COVID-19.

Public schools aren't off the hook for financial issues. They just have a more direct line of assistance. The state and the taxpayers.

Remember the reports/threats of Eastern Illinois University closing amidst the budget standoff that exposed money issues and prompted layoffs. Governors State was among schools struggling with budgets then too. The state of Illinois came to the rescue in the form of taxpayers. Private schools aren’t folded in like that.