Small Private College Cuts Programs as Enrollment Keeps Shrinking

A small private college in central Pennsylvania has announced it will eliminate four undergraduate majors and consolidate two academic departments, the latest response to a sixth consecutive year of declining enrollment that has strained the institution's finances.

College administrators cited a shrinking pool of traditional college-age students in the region and rising competition from larger public universities offering lower tuition, a combination hitting small private colleges across the state particularly hard.

"We can't be everything to everyone at our current size," the college's provost said in a statement to faculty. "These changes let us invest more deeply in the programs where we still have real strength and demand."

Faculty in the affected departments have expressed concern about job security, though the college says it will attempt to reassign rather than lay off most affected instructors where possible. The college has also frozen tuition for the second consecutive year, betting that price stability will help offset declining enrollment by making the school more competitive against public alternatives.

Higher education analysts note the college is far from alone; several similarly sized private institutions across the state have closed entirely in recent years.