Future of Division III

[WUPHF]

Oglethorpe - 2025 audit shows endowments of somewhere around $55M, an increase of around $4.1M from the previous year, so other factors may be responsible for that number.  Their annual expenses for 2025 were around $41M, they took in nearly $38M, and their tuition discount rate was nearly 66%. 

Detailed breakdowns would be educational.

Right, I would also be curious about their executive compensation.  If they pay $400K to the dean of the business school, well...

[Ralph Turner]

I too wonder if the "in trust" monies were calculated. The campus is beautiful, well-kept and seemingly up-to-date. I hear nothing of financial trouble at ETBU and IMHO, their devout positioning for a faith-based college education may not be comprehended by urban "sophisticates" but certainly plays well to the parents in east Texas. There are some very silent "deep pockets" in east Texas, the maintainters of those "well-lined" pockets have deep connections to faith-based institutions. There is some 95-year-old deep wealth from the 1931 oil boom here. (Lamar Hunt, Sr's childhood home is in Tyler.)

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Oglethorpe - 2025 audit shows endowments of somewhere around $55M, an increase of around $4.1M from the previous year, so other factors may be responsible for that number.  Their annual expenses for 2025 were around $41M, they took in nearly $38M, and their tuition discount rate was nearly 66%. 

Detailed breakdowns would be educational.

Right, I would also be curious about their executive compensation.  If they pay $400K to the dean of the business school, well...

On their 2024 filing, nobody over $300k, but probably a few too many six figure salaries for the size of the school.  Loss $3m on the year.  $50m endowment.  Probably not panic mode, but they can't be feeling great. Certainly a better situation than a lot of other schools.

[WUPHF]

On their 2024 filing, nobody over $300k, but probably a few too many six figure salaries for the size of the school.  Loss $3m on the year.  $50m endowment.  Probably not panic mode, but they can't be feeling great. Certainly a better situation than a lot of other schools.

Very interesting, thanks!

[Kuiper]

Another piece of evidence for the decline of traditional liberal arts majors.  SUNY Fredonia is cutting majors like Economics, Math, Physics, and Political Science, (as well as hot new majors like Data Science).  They blame small enrollment, but this is probably one of those cases where being part of the SUNY system makes this a sorting issue more than anything.  I assume students still major in Econ elsewhere in the SUNY system, but apparently not the students interested in attending Fredonia.  Nevertheless, the looming dark clouds for DIII liberal arts colleges is that if traditional majors are not of interest to students anymore, who will attend schools whose strength is in these traditional majors?  Small Liberal Arts colleges can's exactly pivot easily to engineering degrees, for example, and they have no comparative advantage in offering many applied degrees just by being smaller.

https://www.wivb.com/news/education/colleges-universities-buffalo/suny-fredonia-cutting-more-than-20-programs-and-minors/

SUNY Fredonia will cut more than 20 programs and minors in an effort to address its deficit, the school said in a news release Tuesday.

The school will cut 14 undergraduate and graduate programs:
Undergrad programs

    Communication – Audio/Radio
    Cooperative Engineering
    Economics
    International Studies
    Mathematics
    Mathematics (applied)
    Mathematics – Physics
    Physics
    Physics: Adolescence Education
    Political Science

Graduate programs

    Biology
    Mathematics 7-12
    Music Composition
    Music Therapy

In addition, the following minors will be cut:

    Applied Mathematics
    Data Science
    Mathematics
    Statistics
    Physics
    Economics
    Political Science

The programs combine for more than 150 students at the school. Students in the programs will be able to finish out their studies, according to the school. The school added that only 25 are incoming freshmen.