CINCINNATI — Union Institute & University announced its permanent closure Friday, effective June 30. The decision follows 15 months of turmoil for students and employees of the Walnut Hills college that was a pioneer in distance learning and Ohio’s only Hispanic-serving institution.
Union’s accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission, said the school approved teach-out arrangements with Antioch University in Yellow Springs and Lasell University in Newton, Mass.
Union’s press release said those schools “have agreed to match our current tuition and accept all credits earned at Union. Residency requirements have been relaxed so that no Union student will need to spend more time completing their degree than the time already required at Union.”
It’s the latest in a series of setbacks for Union, which began to sporadically pay its employees in March 2023 and got evicted from its Walnut Hills campus in November. In September, it announced plans to cancel the first half of its fall semester. Classes never resumed.
A financial analysis by the WCPO 9 I-Team in September showed the school failed to cut expenses to keep pace with declining enrollment. Total student headcount declined 36% to 1,169 between the fall of 2017 and 2021, while full-time enrollment fell 69% to 212 students.
More recently, the Higher Learning Commission revealed June 13 that Union voluntarily resigned its accreditation after the commission placed the school on administrative probation May 21. The probation action followed Union’s failure to pay dues and perform “periodic evaluation” of the “structures and mechanisms set forth in its policies,” according to the commission.
Union Institute offered no explanation for the circumstances that led to its closure, but its statement indicates the increased use of remote learning by bigger colleges played a role in its demise.
“The post-pandemic world has brought about changes in higher education,” it said. “Nearly all universities now acknowledge the potential of adult learners and recognize the opportunities presented by distance learning. As we move forward, we take pride in knowing that we have left our mark on the world of higher education.”
