Tag: Limestone

  • Limestone University Announces Closure

    Limestone University Announces Closure

    Limestone University survived the Civil War and the Great Depression, but protracted financial struggles have proven harder to overcome: After nearly 180 years, Limestone will cease operations next week.

    Officials announced the closure Tuesday night.

    “Words cannot fully express the sorrow we feel in having to share this news,” Limestone president Nathan Copeland said in a statement. “Our students, alumni, faculty, staff, and supporters fought tirelessly to save this historic institution. While the outcome is not what we hoped for, we are forever grateful for the passion, loyalty, and prayers of our Saints family.”

    The move follows a tumultuous period for the university. After years of financial challenges, the Board of Trustees was set to decide last week on whether to shift to online-only operations or close altogether. At the last minute it decided to hold off on the decision because a “possible funding source” had emerged.

    Limestone was seeking a $6 million infusion to help facilitate the shift to a fully online model. Though the university was able to secure $2.1 million in pledged commitments from almost 200 donors, according to the closure announcement, it ultimately fell well short of the goal, prompting the board to close the private institution in South Carolina.

    Now 478 employees will lose their jobs.

    The closure comes on the heels of significant enrollment and financial losses. The university enrolled 3,214 students in fall 2014, according to federal data; Limestone recently noted enrollment at around 1,600.

    It has also operated for years with substantial budget deficits. The latest audit for the university noted “significant doubt” about Limestone’s ability to remain open, given that it had “suffered recurring significant negative changes in net assets and cash flows from operations” and had “a net deficiency in [unrestricted] net assets.”

    Limestone’s board also borrowed heavily from the university’s meager endowment in recent years.

    In 2023, the South Carolina attorney general agreed to lift restrictions on Limestone’s endowment to allow the board to increase spending from those funds. As a result, the endowment collapsed in value, falling from $31.5 million at the beginning of fiscal year 2022 to $12.6 million at the end of FY23. Auditors noted that “all endowment funds are underwater” as of last June.

    Auditors also expressed skepticism that Limestone would be able to pay off mounting debts.

    The university had more than $30 million in outstanding debt in the last fiscal year, including $27.2 million owed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Limestone’s latest audit shows the university listed its buildings and land as collateral for both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and another bank loan.

    Auditors also found that Limestone’s “internal controls over financial reporting are informal and lack formal documentation,” and that the university’s accounting department was understaffed.

    Despite the abrupt nature of the closure, Limestone officials wrote in Tuesday’s announcement that the university “will proceed with an orderly wind-down process” and help students transfer to other institutions and support faculty and staff with more information to come on those efforts.

    Limestone will hold its final commencement on Saturday.

    “Our Limestone spirit will endure through the lives of our students and alumni who carry it forward into the world,” Limestone board chair Randall Richardson said in the closure announcement. “Though our doors may close, the impact of Limestone University will live on.”

    The closure announcement comes less than a week after St. Andrews University, a private institution in North Carolina, made a similar decision to cease operations due to fiscal issues.

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  • Limestone University to close after fundraising blitz falls short

    Limestone University to close after fundraising blitz falls short

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    Dive Brief:

    • Limestone University, in South Carolina, will close when its current semester ends this week after last-ditch fundraising efforts came up short, the Christian institution announced Tuesday. 
    • The university’s trustee board voted to permanently shutter Limestone despite raising $2.1 million from almost 200 donors in the last two weeks. The board previously said Limestone would need $6 million to stabilize operations.
    • “In the final analysis, we could not continue operations on-campus or online without a greater amount of funding,” board Chair Randall Richardson said in a Thursday statement.

    Dive Insight:

    Limestone ended last week on a hopeful note, with Richardson describing the board as “cautiously optimistic.”

    At the time, the board announced a potential financial “lifeline.” This came shortly after revealing a fiscal crisis that might force the university to shutter or move to online-only operations. 

    Days after revealing the possible “lifeline,” Limestone launched a public fundraising blitz and received an unrestricted gift of $1 million from the Fullerton Foundation, a local nonprofit with which it has a long relationship. 

    “One of the largest in Limestone’s recent history, the transformative donation comes at a pivotal time as the institution rallies to secure critical funding that will help sustain its mission of providing life-changing educational opportunities,” the university said in the Fullerton announcement. 

    But even for a small university, the multimillion dollar campaign wasn’t enough to sustain Limestone.

    Founded in 1845, Limestone’s enrollment has declined in recent years, with fall headcount dipping 27% to 1,782 students between 2018 and 2023, according to federal data. Current enrollment stands at about 1,600 students, the university said last week.

    The university’s board has blamed those drops, as well as rising costs, for its financial travails. For fiscal 2024, it logged a budget deficit of $9.2 million, following an $11.4 million shortfall in 2023. 

    As it prepares to close, the university has promised an “orderly wind-down process” and said it will help students transfer to other institutions. 

    “More detailed information about the closure timeline, academic records, transfer assistance, employment impact, and other support services will be provided in the coming days,” it said. 

    Limestone plans to hold its commencement ceremony on Saturday for those students graduating at the end of the term, 246 in all. 

    “Our Limestone spirit will endure through the lives of our students and alumni who carry it forward into the world,” Richardson said. “Though our doors may close, the impact of Limestone University will live on.”

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  • Limestone University may have a ‘lifeline’ to avert closure

    Limestone University may have a ‘lifeline’ to avert closure

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    Dive Brief:

    • Limestone University may have the “financial lifeline” it needs to avoid shutting down and maintain its in-person courses and operations, its board of trustees said Tuesday. The announcement did not disclose details on the funding source. 
    • The private Christian institution, in South Carolina, signaled last week it could be forced to close or turn to online-only operations without an immediate cash injection. The board said it has tabled those discussions for now and plans to reconvene no later than April 29.
    • However, the 179-year-old university will proceed as though it will be online-only after the semester ends, Limestone President Nathan Copeland said in a statement. “I regret the uncertainty of the situation, but we must be exceptionally cautious,” he added.

    Dive Insight:

     In a statement, board Chair Randall Richardson was frank about just how deep Limestone’s financial troubles run. 

    “Last week, we were at the brink of a possible closure or transition to online-only classes,” Richardson said. “Now, we are pausing that discussion so we can wait on more information about a potential financial lifeline.”

    Officials offered no details on the financing, saying only that “a possible funding source has surfaced” that could mitigate the university’s current crisis. A university spokesperson declined Wednesday to share more information about the funding source.

    Previously, officials said the university would need a $6 million emergency fund to stave off closure and keep its physical campus and activities running. 

    In the university’s announcement Tuesday, it said the proposed cash infusion would “stabilize operations and give the university the opportunity to pursue long-term solutions that preserve its on-campus identity.”

    Richardson said the board was “cautiously optimistic about the future of Limestone,” but added a hedge: “We want to emphasize, this is just a possibility at the current time.”

    Limestone attributed its financial woes in part to falling enrollment. Between 2018 and 2023, its fall headcount dropped 27% to 1,782 students, per federal data. The university said Tuesday that enrollment now stands at about 1,600 students.

    High costs have also added pressure. The university has faced persistent budget deficits — $9.2 million in fiscal 2024, following an $11.4 million gap in 2023, according to its latest financials. 

    Limestone has tapped its endowment to fund its operations amid the financial strain. Between fiscal years 2023 and 2024, Limestone’s net assets declined by more than $12 million, to $61 million, as the university ramped spending from its endowment.

    In its latest financial statement, the university’s auditors issued a “going concern” warning, indicating they found “substantial doubt” about Limestone’s ability to continue operating over the next year.

    For now, Limestone’s uncertain fate remains a predicament for officials, employees and students alike as they try to plan for upcoming semesters — a challenge which the university’s leaders acknowledged. 

    “We will update everyone as soon as we know more,” Richardson said. “Please be patient and continue to pray for a viable solution to save this historic university.” 

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  • Limestone University needs $6M to avoid shutdown or going online-only

    Limestone University needs $6M to avoid shutdown or going online-only

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    Dive Brief:

    • Limestone University, in South Carolina, may move to online-only classes or shut down entirely in the near future as it wrestles with a financial crisis, the 179-year-old institution announced Wednesday. 
    • To avoid closing or going exclusively online, the private nonprofit’s board of trustees said it would need an “immediate” infusion of $6 million in emergency funding, though it didn’t indicate where it might find the funds. 
    • Limestone attributed its financial woes to enrollment declines, rising costs and “long-standing structural pressures facing small, private institutions.”

    Dive Insight:

    Describing the current crisis as a “turning point,” Limestone’s announcement Wednesday listed multiple possible paths forward, and in doing so the university threw general uncertainty over its future. 

    “While full closure remains a risk, the institution is considering a scenario that would discontinue all in-person academic operations and all other activities, including athletics, in Gaffney,” the university said. “The fully online model would effectively end the traditional college campus experience.”

    Limestone’s board is set to meet April 22 to discuss next steps.

    Many of the Christian university’s travails stem from a drop-off in students. Between 2018 and 2023, fall enrollment plummeted 27% to 1,782 students.

    Under financial pressure, Limestone has been leaning heavily on its endowment, the university’s financials show. In 2023, with approval from the state attorney general, the university suspended a policy of spending no more than 5% of the endowment’s total value. Between fiscal years 2023 and 2024, Limestone’s net assets fell by more than $12 million, to $61 million.

    With cash and investments dwindling, and amid persistent budget deficits — to the tune of $9.2 million in fiscal 2024, following an $11.4 million gap in 2023 — the university’s auditors warned that it may not be able to continue operating as a “going concern.”

    Limestone currently offers online courses in addition to in-person classes, but it trumpets what it said is $150 million economic impact on South Carolina’s Cherokee County from its campus. That sum would be imperiled with a move to online-only operations.

    “This potential shift to online-only instruction threatens not only the campus experience, but local jobs and the cultural presence Limestone has provided for nearly two centuries,” the institution said. 

    The $6 million emergency fund — which the university’s trustees proposed without detailing — would “stabilize operations and give the university the opportunity to pursue long-term solutions that preserve its on-campus identity,” Limestone said. 

    “Limestone remains committed to our students and we will work directly with current students to help them identify the best path to successfully complete their educational journey,” board Chair Randall Richardson said in a statement. 

    Other colleges in recent years have likewise sought emergency cash funding infusions to stay afloat in troubled times. 

    For example, Northland College, a private nonprofit in Wisconsin, last year announced a multimillion-dollar Hail Mary fundraising campaign. Without $12 million, the college said last spring, it would be forced to close. 

    Northland wound up falling well short of that goal, but pursued a turnaround on what it called “transformative” gifts and an initiative to pare back its programs. Despite those efforts, the college announced in February that it will close at the end of the current academic year. 

    Other similarly situated colleges, including Hampshire College, have had better luck after an existential fundraising blitz. After falling into financial distress, Hampshire launched a $60 million fundraising campaign that kept it afloat and helped it revamp its programs and operations.

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