Meghan Holden

mholden@jconline.com

RENSSELAER, Ind. — Saint Joseph's College will temporarily suspend all activities at its Rensselaer campus after this semester, school officials announced Friday evening.

Amid financial challenges, the college's Board of Trustees on Friday voted to suspend all operations on campus for the 2017-18 academic year. In that time, leaders will consider whether to "begin anew or become an attractive partner for another educational institution," according to a press release sent Friday evening to the campus community.

"The college cannot continue in its current form and needs to change the very fabric of the institution," the release said. "This change must occur immediately to preserve our remaining resources to prepare for a launch of a future, re-engineered Saint Joseph's College."

Interviews won't be available until next week, according to a spokesperson for the college.

Last week, Saint Joseph's president Robert Pastoor said the school requires at least $100 million to continue to effectively serve students. That figure is the amount needed to address the college's debt, deferred maintenance and other costs necessary to bring it to a financially healthy status, director of marketing Greg Gill previously told the Journal & Courier. He also said the school's financial issues had been "brewing" for the past 10 to 15 years, or longer.

The Higher Learning Commission in November placed the college on probation until 2018 because it wasn't in compliance with its accreditation criteria, citing "concerns related to resources, planning and institutional effectiveness; quality, resources and support of teaching and learning; as well as evaluation and improvement of teaching and learning," according to a public disclosure notice.

The 125-year-old college currently enrolls 904 students and employs 200 people, according to the release.

Saint Joseph's will help students with transferring and will have a "teach-out process" with other institutions to ensure students have options for completing their education, the release stated. Seniors will be able to graduate in May, as planned.

The college will retain the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. The only anticipated change in the student experience is that all courses will be taught in Lafayette, the release stated. Other programs could also potentially be retained if they're located off the Rensselaer campus.

Athletic programs will be suspended at the end of their respective seasons.

Two forums will be held Monday for faculty, staff and students in which questions about the teach-out process and the suspension will be answered.

"The temporary suspension of operations allows the possibility of something greater to come out of this decision, and to keep the mission of the College alive,” Pastoor said in a statement. "Given the financial challenges that remain, we are heartened for our students, faculty, staff and alumni that the more-than-125 year tradition of outstanding higher education will continue in some form for Saint Joseph’s College."

Contact J&C higher education reporter Meghan Holden at mholden@jconline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @MeghanHolden.