Globe Names Dean as one of 3 MA Schools on Thin Financial Ice

An article just published by the Boston Globe, by staffer,  education writer, Hilary Burns, has singled out
three private Massachusetts Colleges for showing ‘red flags’
indicating financial problems and potential closure could be on the horizon: American International, Lesley University, and Dean College.

Although she did
talk to authorities at the other two colleges, American International
in Springfield and Lesley University in Cambridge, she was not
successful in getting comment from Dean, so her surmise about the
future of the school is based only  on published data.

For one thing, she
noted, enrollment has fallen off significantly since 2010, though
that is at least in part a demographic fact challenging colleges
across the nation.

She also asserted
that most students at Dean are paying much less than the full ‘list price’
of attending the institution,, namely some $73,000 annually, instead generating
less than half of that amount per student.

And finally, she
wrote about the school's shrinking endowment, from which the school
took more than $3 million in 2026 to cover operating expenses.

Of course, for many
years under former president Paula Rooney, the trends were mostly in
the other direction, with a substantial growth in endowment and
strong enrollment.

Regardless, Burns
argues that all three schools owe students, parents, and employees a
fuller accounting of their financial health and a clear plan
to grow and prosper.