Those whose main high school experience occurred during the pandemic are in college now and as a result many are struggling across every type of higher ed institution. All colleges are changing and adapting at this time. Montserrat has enriched the North Shore for many years and I’m grateful to read about their plan to navigate this challenging time.
Colleges today face headwinds not seen in generations, so when community rumors swirl around a prized asset such as Montserrat College of Art in downtown Beverly, the college needs to push back.
Montserrat is not closing its doors, and rumors to the contrary not only hurt our Beverly community, in which Montserrat has a $27 million impact, but they greatly affect our students, faculty, staff and supporters. Those who would spread those rumors, rather than contacting any officials at the college for answers, are intentionally or not, having a very negative effect on Montserrat.
Montserrat’s enrollment is lower than in the past, due to the lingering effects of the pandemic, and also the botched roll-out of the federal government’s student financial aid services last year, the FAFSFA program, and a demographic change in New England where we are seeing the lowest number of high school graduates in more than a generation.
The college has had NO lay-offs, does not intend to have lay-offs, has NOT borrowed against our endowment. What Montserrat has done is create multiple plans to right-size the institution for the current and future student enrollments. Montserrat has continued to give pay increases and will do so again this next fiscal year. Through several actions outlined in our Montserrat 2035 plan, the college will eliminate its current deficit within one or two years. Montserrat will work to continue offering the excellent creative art and design education for which the college is known and has earned accolades from US News and World Report, among others.
During the college’s 55-year history, mostly in downtown Beverly, the campus has bought and sold buildings, or rented and moved out of spaces to better suit the needs of the academic program. All colleges do this over time. We are no exception and as we right-size our college to better fit our current student population, we anticipate an improvement to our community’s well-being, safety and efficiency of movement across campus.
Many colleges in Massachusetts and other states face scrutiny from their accreditors in tough times. We are no exception and have been working alongside our colleagues at NECHE, our funders, and the Massachusetts Department of Education to improve the college’s cash flow as we move forward.
We hope our friends in the community will stand by us as we move into our future, stronger and more resilient.
This is based on the formula economists use based on our annual operating budget, payroll, rent we pay, students meals in the community, leases and real estate taxes, our Pilot Payment to the City of Beverly, Scholarships to Beverly students, and all of our employees and guests, summer programs, parent visitors, etc.
Those whose main high school experience occurred during the pandemic are in college now and as a result many are struggling across every type of higher ed institution. All colleges are changing and adapting at this time. Montserrat has enriched the North Shore for many years and I’m grateful to read about their plan to navigate this challenging time.
Colleges today face headwinds not seen in generations, so when community rumors swirl around a prized asset such as Montserrat College of Art in downtown Beverly, the college needs to push back.
Montserrat is not closing its doors, and rumors to the contrary not only hurt our Beverly community, in which Montserrat has a $27 million impact, but they greatly affect our students, faculty, staff and supporters. Those who would spread those rumors, rather than contacting any officials at the college for answers, are intentionally or not, having a very negative effect on Montserrat.
Montserrat’s enrollment is lower than in the past, due to the lingering effects of the pandemic, and also the botched roll-out of the federal government’s student financial aid services last year, the FAFSFA program, and a demographic change in New England where we are seeing the lowest number of high school graduates in more than a generation.
The college has had NO lay-offs, does not intend to have lay-offs, has NOT borrowed against our endowment. What Montserrat has done is create multiple plans to right-size the institution for the current and future student enrollments. Montserrat has continued to give pay increases and will do so again this next fiscal year. Through several actions outlined in our Montserrat 2035 plan, the college will eliminate its current deficit within one or two years. Montserrat will work to continue offering the excellent creative art and design education for which the college is known and has earned accolades from US News and World Report, among others.
During the college’s 55-year history, mostly in downtown Beverly, the campus has bought and sold buildings, or rented and moved out of spaces to better suit the needs of the academic program. All colleges do this over time. We are no exception and as we right-size our college to better fit our current student population, we anticipate an improvement to our community’s well-being, safety and efficiency of movement across campus.
Many colleges in Massachusetts and other states face scrutiny from their accreditors in tough times. We are no exception and have been working alongside our colleagues at NECHE, our funders, and the Massachusetts Department of Education to improve the college’s cash flow as we move forward.
We hope our friends in the community will stand by us as we move into our future, stronger and more resilient.
Jo Broderick
Chief of Staff
Montserrat College of Art
Can I ask how they have a $27 million impact on the city? Serious question, I'm not being sparky.
This is based on the formula economists use based on our annual operating budget, payroll, rent we pay, students meals in the community, leases and real estate taxes, our Pilot Payment to the City of Beverly, Scholarships to Beverly students, and all of our employees and guests, summer programs, parent visitors, etc.