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Notre Dame College
Credit: Notre Dame College
Notre Dame, a small liberal arts college in South Euclid, Ohio, is closing at the end of the spring 2024 semester.

Notre Dame College to close, says CSU will take in some students

Notre Dame's administration informed faculty, staff and students that the 100-year-old Catholic college will be closing at the end of spring 2024. Cleveland State was named as one of nine regional colleges that will take in qualifying NDC students.

Notre Dame College announced on Feb. 29 that it will be closing at the end of the semester due to its unsustainable financial position and low enrollment.

Notre Dame's administration announced the closure at two meetings Thursday with the NDC community.  

It cited declining enrollment problems, a shrinking pool of college-age students, rising costs and significant debt as the reasons the board of trustees decided to shut down the small Catholic college, which had recently celebrated its centennial.

Notre Dame College (NDC), with its rich history and commitment to academic excellence, has been a cornerstone of our community for more than 100 years," NDC said on social media. "However, as we have shared, like many higher education institutions across the country, NDC has experienced challenges due to higher costs and a shrinking pool of college-aged students.”

Cleveland State to take in NDC students, fate of faculty & staff is unclear

Notre Dame officials said they had secured a commitment from nine colleges colleges and universities to take in qualifying NDC students to finish their studies.

The nine institutions are Baldwin Wallace University, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kent State University, Lake Erie College, Ursuline College, Walsh University, and Mercyhurst University (Erie, Penn.)

“Throughout this long process, we evaluated every possible option to continue the mission of Notre Dame College,” said Terri Bradford Eason, chair of the board of trustees of Notre Dame College. “Our primary focus has been to ensure our students can successfully continue their education, graduate, and – in the tradition of the Sisters of Notre Dame – live a life of personal, professional and global responsibility.”

In a press release outlining the next steps for NDC, the college acknowledged that it had lost a long battle to address the financial and enrollment issues the college was facing.

“These heroic efforts were not enough to close the financial gap in time to satisfy debt obligations and allow the school to continue to operate independently.”

No mention was made of the fate of the college's 154 faculty and staff, except that "NDC will also offer HR support to all faculty and staff to support them with their career transition."