HCS Founder and Principal Comments on Challenges at Hampshire and Green Mountain Colleges

Higher Ed Consolidation Solutions Founder and Principal Brian Weinblatt was recently featured in an article published by Inside Higher Ed on challenging situations at Hampshire and Green Mountain Colleges. Hampshire College recently announced plans to not admit students for the upcoming fall semester. At Green Mountain College, a group called SaveGMC is working to raise funds to prevent the institution from closing.

Weinblatt’s remarks:

“What we're seeing now at both Hampshire and Green Mountain Colleges is far too little, far too late,” he said in an email. “This applies both to the administrative efforts and those of the alumni, parents and others who are calling for external support for the institutions. The thoughts, well wishes and gestures of support are all well intentioned, however, they cannot realistically make a difference at this point.”

The institutions in question would have needed to make major changes much earlier if they were to survive, Weinblatt continued. A thoughtful leader should view discussions about mergers and consolidations as a chance to avoid closing the door on a storied institution with a rich history and not dismiss them as a failure, he said.

“Make no mistake -- for some institutions there truly will be no viable path forward,” Weinblatt said. “And some -- perhaps many -- will close in the coming years. But astute leaders who truly look at all available options can chart a path forward to continued existence and success and not find themselves in a place where they are announcing cancellations of incoming classes of students, desperation fund-raising campaigns or complete closures.”