New focus helps Saint Joseph’s College rebound from past financial struggles
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In early 2017, Saint Joseph’s College suspended operations on its campus in Rensselaer after what its then-president called a “dire” financial situation.
But now, the more than 125-year-old institution is thriving once again after a years-long effort that included a transition in its academic offerings to focus more on trades and certificates.
The momentum continued earlier this month, when the Saint Joe board of trustees announced Rachel Lattimore had been chosen as the college’s new CEO.
Bill Carroll, former executive director for the college who continues to serve as a consultant, said the change in Saint Joe’s fortunes started with rethinking its offerings.
“In 2019, we wrote a strategic plan, and that laid out couple tracks,” Carroll said. “One track was to develop certificate programming. The other track was to develop credit courses not by St. Joe’s, but by partnering uniquely with other institutions.”
Carroll said over the last few years, there has been a lesser interest in college degrees and a heightened interest in education in the trades. Now, the college has developed a building and trades program that works with local high school juniors and seniors.
“[The goal is] to develop a program of teaching these high school students trades [and] become craftsmen,” he said. “And to really put that on the line, the college has set aside a large number of building lots. And every year, the high school students, in partnership with the college, will be building a house on campus that we will then sell to the larger community. I believe it’s 28 lots, so 28 years worth of every year, the high school students will build a house, learn the trades, and then sell the house to the community.”
On the certificate side, Saint Joe has developed certificate programming with a particular focus on the health sciences, including certified nursing assistants, certified clinical medical assistants and certified phlebotomy technicians.
“We’ve added certificates that are accepted all around the country,” said Carroll. “We added about eight or nine health care programming, got significant students in the beginning, and we’re gonna expand that market. These students graduate in like six to eight weeks with a certificate that gets them a job as a CNA, medical assistant, phlebotomist.”
The certificate programs have about 300 students, Carroll said, and a market study of those students found that many wanted to continue their education.
Saint Joe then partnered with a university in Minnesota, which brought credit courses to Saint Joe. The students can then use those credits toward a degree from another institution.
Lattimore began her tenure as CEO of Saint Joseph’s College this week. She said the college’s mission is what really attracted her to the position.
“There’s nothing more impactful than seeing somebody that doesn’t fit a traditional academic career, come here, get certified and immediately find a job making enough money that it impacts their family and their future,” she said. “That is significant, and that fulfills the mission of the college.”
Lattimore said she wants to revisit the strategic plan in 2019 and what can come next to continue the college’s growth.
“We know that every five to 10 years, there’s always new doors that open to explore ways to help people fulfill their vision,” she said. “We just had a meeting earlier about possibly looking at CDL training to fulfill this gap in our area, and we’re looking for partners that kind of help us with these opportunities. So, we’ll be looking at strategically how do we continue to grow and fulfill this mission.”
Looking ahead, Carroll said one of the avenues of growth for Saint Joe is expanding its market. In addition to ensuring that the certificate programs are all available online, the college is looking to bring in students from other areas for the trades program.
“We’re looking to partner in Chicago on the Trades Program, bringing students to the campus to actually do the work and go back,” he said. “We’re talking about conversations with the unions to accept our students as apprentices. So the Saint Joe market has to grow for Saint Joe to be successful.”
After all the financial difficulties the college faced in 2017, Carroll said Saint Joe is now financially solvent, which gives plenty of room for growth. In December 2018, the college launched a fundraising effort called 128 Core Partners, which has allowed it to start new programming, he said.
“We’re secure moving into the future.”