I never imagined saying a permanent goodbye to a University that deeply impacted me. Today, I take this action for the second time in as many years.
Last year, I said Goodbye to Hardin-Simmons University after that University choose a new path marked by dishonesty and that exclude all people who do not wholeheartedly endorse a new and troublingly specific statement of faith.
Today, I say Goodbye to Hodges University upon the recent news that it has stopped admitting new students and will cease operations no later than August 2024.
My Experience of Hodges University
Soon after relocating to Southwest Florida to serve First Presbyterian Church in Naples in 2007, I was introduced to an institution that had recently undergone a name change from International College to Hodge University following a major gift by Earl and Thelma Hodges. The school was entering a season of growth and had established itself as the leading private institution in the area focused on educating adult learners with degrees and skills to make an impact in a wide ranger of rapidly growing career fields.
Less than a year later, my wife joined the University’s faculty as a Librarian. She went on to become an adjunct professor in the Nichols School of Profession Studies and the Johnson School of Business. Over the next eight years, she served in numerous leadership roles in the library, taught a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students, and received the Professor of the Year Award in 2013.
A couple of years after she joined the faculty, I joined the University’s staff in the Online Learning Department. I served in that area for four years focused primarily on faculty professional development with an emphasis on quality online course development and delivery. Not long after starting in that role, I began teaching as an adjunct professor in the Nichols School of Professional Studies and in the School of Liberal Studies. I continued as an adjunct faculty for more than seven years, devoting the last several years to developing and delivering courses on world religions.
Declining Enrollment
Since teaching my final class in 2018, I have not kept up with all of the University’s challenges and changes. I was, however, aware that enrollment had continued to decline. And, I knew that the University had discontinued classes on its Naples campus and sold those real estate holdings.
The most important challenge came in the form of students. Small private universities are highly dependent upon tuition to fund operating expenses. This, of course, is especially true for those with modest enodwments.
When I started at Hodges, the total enrollment was around 3,000 students (link to University’s 2010-2011 Factbook is active as of the publication of this post). The decline happened as follows:
- 3,000 students in 2010-2011 (according to Hodges University data)
- 1,115 students in 2017-2018 (according to data from the U. S. Education Department)
- 638 students (of which just 558 were degree seeking) in Fall 2021 (according to Hodges University’s data)
- 448 students in Fall 2022 (according to the Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics)
So What?
Hodges University isn’t alone. Their inability to navigate the changing realities of higher education as a small private college make them one of many that has closed or has announced plans to cease operations. And, experts expect many more small private colleges and universities to face a similar fate over the next decade.
I am saddened by the loss of Hodges University because of my connection to it. I am also saddened by the wider loss of what had long been an important niche in higher education.
I am grateful for the opportunities Hodges University provided me to educate and empower more than 100 faculty to design and deliver quality online courses and programs as well as the opportunity to increase the religious literacy of more than 500 students. I am also thankful Hodges University served the Southwest Florida community well for more than 30 years educating more than 14,000 graduates.
And, I am hopeful that President Charlene Wendel will ably oversee the winding down of University operations and closure in a way that honors its history, respects its current students, and supports all of the many stakeholders who are grieving this loss.