According to this report in the Boston Globe, the presidents of Mount Ida and Lasell are hoping they can keep tuition costs lower by joining forces.
“It offers the opportunity to maintain two beautiful campuses and very small classes and the traditional New England model and at the same time deal with the economic efficiencies that we have to think about in order to keep us affordable and alive.” – Barry Brown, president of Mount Ida
I assume if Newton forced them to paid their fair share of property taxes, we would be looking at huge layoffs or sharp tuition spikes?
Hey, but imagine the amount of taxes Newton will pull in once they start selling more parcels of land to developers just to stay afloat :)
Unfortunately, these colleges cannot attract the huge demand from rich overseas students wanting to study in USA.. this is what keeps most colleges flush with cash
Actually at one time I know that Lasell attracted wealthy young women from Japan and maybe other countries for an American experience, sort of a finishing school. I was approached by a friend whose firm found them housing. At the time I remember the cost of the program being crazy expensive.
I have a feeling that this kind of merger is the tip of the iceberg. Although Lasell and Mount Ida are fine institutions, they have neither the cachet nor the resources of Harvard, MIT, etc. At the same time, in the wake of the Great Recession, many people are not as willing or able to afford the high prices they charge. These are the new realities of higher education in the 21st century. Hopefully, it will work for them.
Small liberal arts colleges are in a terrible position, made worse by very affordable online education by Harvard, MIT and the likes. I don’t see much of a future for them.
I don’t know much about Mt. Ida but I do have some experience with Lasell. I always thought their tuition rates were ridiculous for a college like that. There was also some shady stuff that went on with their financial aid department a few years back. I’m curious to see if/how the merger works. Lasell has an interesting history in the community, though.
Maybe I shouldn’t be but I’m stunned by the negativity here.
Both of these Newton institutions provide significant cultural, social and economic benefits to our community. They are major employers. Their students spend money here, do internships here, volunteer here, do research here and take jobs here. They add youth and vitality to our ageing communities, host community events, collaborate with other nonprofits, fill our hotels and restaurants on parents’ weekends and graduations. And so on.
They are part of what makes Newton Newton.
Yes these institutions, like other non-profit educations institutions nationwide are tax exempt. Educating future generations of citizens comes at a cost to the rest of us. I believe that tax exempt status is well worth it.
@Greg
Your post is odd. One-half of one sentence of one comments mentioned tax status. Most of the rest discuss the reality of third-tier private colleges surviving in a tough marketplace.
The tuition of both colleges are not exactly affordable @ 33k a year . Shouldn’t the tax exempt status mainly benefit students via cheaper tuition?. I find it crazy that Harvard University has a 35 BILLION endowment and don’t pay their fair share of taxes…
In any case, Newton would not want either college to fail.. imagine the number of condos they could build on all that land…
Here’s the tuition costs of both colleges
http://www.collegesimply.com/colleges-near/massachusetts/newton/
@Bugek: Yes tuitions are expensive. Imagine how expensive they’d be if schools paid property taxes.
More importantly, you can’t just judge a school by tuition. How much financial aid do they provide? What’s the percentage of students who recieve aid?
Also take a look at how many of these kids are first generation college students because at Mount Ida, in particular, that number is substantial.
Neither Mt Ida nor Lasell has had a perfect relationship with their respective neighbors. Regardless of that the presence of these colleges are a big part of what makes Newton Newton. I’m happy to see that these institutions are thinking strategically for the future and will be sticking around.