Your first day teaching as an adjunct professor at a new university can be daunting. Not to mention the struggles of finding your way around campus and accessing web servers, office space, and photocopiers, and the horrible compensation you receive for your labor.
But on a bright spring day in April 2022, when I stepped into St. John's University's Staten Island satellite campus to prepare to teach a philosophy course that fall, I knew something would be different about my experience there. That's what I found out. The warm, close-knit community of the small campus (although its main campus is in Queens) welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like I belonged.
However, my enthusiasm was dashed in August of that year by a school-wide email sent by the president, Reverend Brian Shanley. Due to declining enrollment, the Board of Governors had voted unanimously to close the Staten Island campus at the end of the 2024 academic year.
As planned, the campus will close after classes end this spring. Students can move to Queen's Campus if they wish.
This may feel like a small New York story. But St. John's is not the only higher education institution to consolidate or close campuses as a result of declining enrollment and financial hardship over the past few years. More than 91 universities closed between 2016 and 2023, including 15 in 2023 alone. Forty-four percent of the schools were religiously affiliated, similar to St. John's. The closure of the Staten Island campus is a sign of what's to come for other small campuses that offer students something that is increasingly rare in higher education: a truly communal and intimate learning experience. .
St. John's was founded in Brooklyn in 1870 by Father Vincent, whose purpose was to provide a socially oriented Catholic education in the tradition of St. Vincent de Paul, the founder of the priestly community. The university initially drew primarily Catholic students from metropolitan areas, but has since expanded to include a wider range of students socio-economically, ethnically, religiously, and geographically.
Established in 1971, the Staten Island campus has traditionally been home to students primarily from Brooklyn and Staten Island, the majority of whom are commuters who appreciate the opportunity to receive a college education close to their local community. I was grateful. The campus culture reflects that of Staten Island. Staten Island residents often value putting down roots in their neighborhoods and staying close to family, rather than moving frequently in the name of upward mobility. After hearing the news of the campus closure, many students complained to me that they would have to commute to or live at the Queens campus, approximately 44 miles away, and that it would disrupt their relationships with family, friends, and work. sued.
Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of the Princeton Review, said that the situation at small colleges and universities is in decline, citing challenges such as “There will be an enrollment cliff in 2025, and the U.S. population will have fewer students over the age of 18.'' told me it was unlikely to improve in the future. There is also the fact that most small colleges rely almost entirely on tuition revenue.
Campus closures like these are not just a side effect of market changes; they represent a significant loss for students. Franek said, “Small colleges are better at providing students with an excellent liberal arts education. Student-to-faculty ratios are generally low, and the campus community is a very supportive and close-knit environment.”
It's not just the students who lose. Although I was only able to fully enjoy the Staten Island campus for two years, I found myself immersed in society in a way I had never experienced at other large campuses. Whether it was the students who invited me to service events or pickup basketball games, or the students who helped me understand everything from the dynamics between faculty and administrators to how to fix a printer. Maybe it was the office workers who helped out, or maybe it was the priest and manager of the Vincentian Order. The campus made me feel like a part of the community, with staff who talked to me every time they saw me in the hallways.
Indeed, consolidating higher education institutions and streamlining their structure can improve economic efficiency and make more resources more easily available to more students. Realism requires managers to take market changes seriously and sometimes make difficult decisions.
But the desire to keep small campuses open is more than just idealism. Many students and educators do not thrive in large environments. Furthermore, the highly bureaucratic structures required to run large universities lead to further corporatization of universities, which poses its own risks. This means that the cultivation of meaningful human connections and experiences becomes subsumed into market-driven ideals. Given the dramatic rise in burnout, depression, and suicide on college campuses, it's wise to question whether prioritizing efficiency and sustainability is efficient and sustainable in the long run. Dew.