Concordia University Wisconsin will cut staff, 'reimagine' its Ann Arbor campus
Concordia University Wisconsin will cut staff and make significant changes to its operations, including potentially selling some of its Michigan campus property.
The institution is the latest in Wisconsin to downsize in an effort to reduce costs and balance its budget.
At least three University of Wisconsin System schools are eliminating jobs. In addition, three campuses will end in-person instruction at the end of this school year.
Concordia merged its Mequon campus with the Ann Arbor campus in 2013.
"We wish this dramatic action was not necessary," Concordia President Erik Ankerberg wrote in a Tuesday email to the campus community. "But to secure our future together as an institution, it is."
Concordia declined to make Ankerberg available for an interview, instead offering a statement with similar details to his email. The university also declined to specify the size of its deficit, the expected number of job cuts and current student enrollment at the Mequon campus.
Here's what we know:
What will change at Concordia's Ann Arbor campus?
Despite the Ann Arbor campus recording a record-high enrollment this fall of 1,350 students, costs still exceed revenue. The campus faces a deficit too large to overcome without a "significant change" to operations, Ankerberg wrote.
The campus must be "reimagined," which will likely involve staff reductions and disposal of some property, facilities and equipment. Concordia must move quickly to address the deficit, so operations will be significantly reduced next fall.
What will change at the Mequon campus?
The Mequon campus is "slightly better but still needs attention and significant change," Ankerberg said. Concordia has a little more time at this location to address the deficit, including an analysis of educational curriculum and non-academic programming.
Still, closing the budget gap will require staff reductions, he said.
What do publicly available records indicate about Concordia's finances?
Concordia's tax forms show the school has run a deficit in five of the last six years. The deficits ranged from $2 million to $6.3 million.
About 3,300 employees worked at Concordia in 2018, records show. That dropped to about 2,900 in 2022.
Federal education data shows enrollment has fallen from as many as nearly 6,000 students in 2016 to 4,375 in 2021-22.
The U.S. Education Department annually calculates the overall financial health of private institutions participating in federal student aid programs based on schools’ audited financial statements. The scores range from -1.0 to 3.0, with schools scored 1.5 or higher considered financially responsible.
Concordia's most recent score from 2020-21 was 3.0.
What's next for Concordia?
More details may be available after a board meeting scheduled for the end of February.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Concordia University Wisconsin to cut staff amid financial deficit
