Ninety-seven years after a college opened in Clinton, plans have been announced to close it. Yesterday, Ashford University announced it will close its campus next spring.
Campus director, Charlie Minnick, says the problem is falling enrollment - just a few years ago it had more than 700 on-campus students, but now it's dropped below 500.
Closing the campus will also affect 150 current employees.
Ashford will continue to operate its online classes, and those employees and students will NOT be affected.
Minnick says about one-third of the on-campus students will be able to graduate next spring, and for the rest, help will be available.
These students will be able to enroll in Ashford's online classes, or the college will help them transfer to other nearby colleges to complete their degree programs.
The Sisters of Saint Francis first opened Mount Saint Clare College in Clinton in 1918, and it was sold to Ashford's parent company, Bridgepoint Education, in 2005.
