The board of Alliance University voted on June 27 to close the school, informing staff, faculty, and students on June 28. Layoffs began immediately, leaving alumni stunned.
The board of Alliance University voted on June 27 to close the school, informing staff, faculty, and students on June 28. Layoffs began immediately, leaving alumni stunned.
Alliance University, a 140-year-old Christian and Missionary Alliance school in New York City will close its doors on August 31, citing years of financial struggles.
The financial crisis in Christian higher education has claimed another victim: Alliance, formerly known as Nyack College. Since the pandemic began, at least 18 Christian colleges have shuttered.
Alliance, an evangelical school in the US, stands out for its racial diversity: 34 percent Latino, 30 percent Black, 11 percent international, and 9 percent Asian students this year.
In 1880, the Christian Missionary Alliance was established in New York City. A few years later, Alliance was founded to educate missionaries and those in ministry.
The CMA has long supported the school financially and is mulling extending a part of the Alliance Theological Seminary.
This spring, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education placed Alliance University on “show cause” status, despite an improving outlook in enrollment and fundraising over the past year. Alliance was tasked with proving why its accreditation should be kept.
The board of Alliance University voted on June 27 to close the school, informing staff, faculty, and students on June 28. Layoffs began immediately, leaving alumni stunned. “Shock” was a common reaction among former students at the news of their alma mater’s financial troubles.
David Turk, provost of Alliance, said that 106 students are expected to graduate by August, which is likely to grow due to summer course completions. After July 4, he will hold a Zoom call for all graduates. A final graduation ceremony in August is being considered an opportunity for the Alliance community to mourn and celebrate together. “The students deserve a ceremony,” Turk said. “We need some sort of closure as a community, all dressed up in gowns.”
In an email to Christianity Today, President Rajan Mathews, who took office in 2021 expressed his anguish for the faculty, staff, and students, as well as “the city and our churches and institutions that are now denied our qualified and motivated students.”
The MSCHE informed Alliance University on June 26 that its accreditation will end on December 31, 2023, meaning the university must cease accepting new students and help existing one’s transfer elsewhere.
Alliance faced a $10-million deficit in 2019 and declining enrollment before the pandemic, prompting auditors’ warnings that it was at risk as a “going concern.” In 2021, telecom executive Mathews became president to reverse the fiscal crisis.
Alliance, with roots stretching back to the late 1800s, has long embraced students from diverse backgrounds, including refugees of the Vietnam War and more recently, Afghan refugees. Faculty members are often immigrants themselves and helped welcome the recent arrivals with coats and bedding. The school covers tuition for refugee students as part of its commitment to immigrant churches and resettlement efforts.
With the closure of Alliance, accreditors mandated procedures for student transfers to other programs. Teach-out agreements with schools including Asbury Theological Seminary, Manhattan Community College, Eastern University, Fordham University, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary allow students to transfer credits and complete their degrees.
