CLAYTON — Fontbonne University students can finish their academic degrees at Webster University, according to an agreement between the two private colleges.
Webster is one of nearly a dozen Midwestern universities that have signed agreements with Fontbonne in what’s known as a “teach-out arrangement.†The designation allows students attending a college that is slated to close the opportunity to complete their programs with minimal interruption.
“We understand this is a challenging and uncertain time for Fontbonne students as you navigate how and where to continue your education,†Webster . “Webster University is here to help.â€
Webster spokesman Patrick Giblin said several students have already committed to transferring to Webster.
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Fontbonne announced March 12 that it will shutter in 2025 after years of declining enrollment and budget deficits. Its neighbor, Washington University, agreed to buy its 16-acre campus on Big Bend and Wydown boulevards for an undisclosed price.
Steph Kukuljan and other business reporters bring you insights into ºüÀêÊÓƵ-area real estate and development.
Webster is facing its own financial crisis. Over the past decade, Webster has lost more than $160 million, including a $37 million deficit at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Yet its board of trustees continually awarded raises to Chancellor Beth Stroble and President Julian Schuster that made the two among the highest-paid university leaders in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region. Stroble and other top administrators have agreed to resign.
A judge recently allowed Webster to use restricted donors funds, which are typically used for research, scholarships and professorships, to meet a loan obligation. The college hired a consultant to find recommendations to improve its financial stature, though the report was not publicly released.
All completed undergraduate credits from Fontbonne will be accepted at Webster. Graduate degree credits will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, according to a webpage built to help its students find a new college.
Webster said students will pay a similar tuition to what they paid at Fontbonne.
Gary Stocker, a ºüÀêÊÓƵ-based , said closing universities typically will ask other colleges to agree to a teach-out arrangement, though they often don’t consider the financial stability of those institutions. And increasingly, some opportunistic colleges will reach out on their own in a bid to supplement their tuition revenue.
“Closing colleges have no incentive to send their students to a financially healthy college,†he said. “In too many cases, colleges selected for ‘teach-out’ agreements have their own financial survival challenges.â€
He said Notre Dame College in Ohio recently closed, and of its seven “teach-out†schools, five were at risk of closing.
Fontbonne students include Maryville University in Town and Country; Missouri Baptist University in Creve Coeur; University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in ºüÀêÊÓƵ; Culver-Stockton College in Canton, about 145 miles north of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region; Illinois College in Jacksonville; Quincy University in Illinois; Buena Vista University in Iowa; and The University of Olivet in Michigan.
Blythe Bernhard of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.