University of Providence to Close in 2027 Amid Enrollment Decline and Financial Strain

The University of Providence, a small Catholic institution in Great Falls, Montana, will cease educational operations at the end of the 2026–27 academic year, its Board of Trustees voted Tuesday, after the university exhausted every path to a sustainable operating model.

The final day of instruction will be August 20, 2027. Certain academic and administrative functions will continue past that date so students can receive final grades and academic records.

In a statement, the university said it had spent several years pursuing a viable future in the face of sustained enrollment decline and mounting financial pressure — restructuring academic programs, cutting operating expenses, testing new enrollment and revenue strategies, and exploring partnerships with other institutions. "These actions eased immediate pressures but did not produce a viable long-term operating model," it said.

Terry Cosgrove, chair of the board, said trustees and the university's sponsors spent months evaluating all options, including merger and acquisition. According to a FAQ on the university's website, the board ultimately chose "a planned closure, rather than the risk of an abrupt ending."

Two pressures drove the outcome. Enrollment has shrunk for years: federal data show fall headcount fell 23.5 percent between 2019 and 2024, to 763 students, and Montana Free Press reported that fall 2025 enrollment dropped further, to 630 — below administrators' expectations. Just as critically, the Providence health system — affiliated with the same religious order that founded the university — planned to end an annual subsidy of roughly $8 million at the end of 2027, an amount that matched the university's projected annual budget gap.

Against that shortfall, the university's $21 million endowment would have covered only about 2.6 years of the gap.

The university declared financial exigency in December 2025, giving it latitude to lay off tenured faculty and restructure, and in May set a goal of raising $16 million over four years through philanthropy and enrollment growth. In August, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, its accreditor, placed it on probation over financial stability concerns and required a teach-out plan this month.

Student support is the centerpiece of the wind-down. The university said it will give every enrolled student individualized guidance toward an academically sound path to a degree — either completing it at Providence, transferring under an approved teach-out arrangement with a partner institution, or moving to another college. Teach-out plans developed under NWCCU requirements are designed to ensure students' out-of-pocket costs do not exceed what they would have been had the university remained open.

Providence will keep accepting donations until it closes, using them and its endowment to reduce graduate tuition and offer scholarships to undergraduates taking summer courses. It also plans to approach donors "to discuss alternatives that honor the original intent and purpose of their gifts."

Employees will be briefed in individual meetings beginning Oct. 28 on employment timelines, compensation and benefits, transition responsibilities and support resources. Faculty members' last day will be set by "program requirements and institutional needs," with career transition services to follow.

"We recognize the grief and uncertainty this decision will bring to students, families, employees, alumni and the Great Falls community," President Caroline Goulet said. "The decision to close is not a reflection of the quality of the University's academic programs, faculty, staff, or students. Our responsibility now is to protect students and provide each student with the clearest possible path forward."

The closure lands amid a broader wave of small-college failures. According to BestColleges, which has tracked nonprofit closures since March 2020, 49 public or nonprofit institutions or campuses have closed or announced plans to close, and roughly 53,000 students have been affected by private nonprofit closures over that period. Roughly a dozen additional nonprofit colleges announced closures in 2026.

Founded in 1932 by the Sisters of Providence, the Ursuline Sisters and the Catholic Bishop of Great Falls, the university widened access to Catholic higher education at a time when opportunities for women were limited. "The Sisters of Providence founded this University because they saw a need," said Mary Anne Sladich-Lantz, president of Providence Ministries. "But times change. The path forward for many small, private universities across the country is uncertain. Financial sustainability is no longer feasible."

Carroll College, a fellow Catholic institution about 90 miles away in Helena, began offering transfer support to Providence students the same day. "As a fellow Catholic college in Montana, we feel this loss particularly deeply," President Jennifer Glowienka wrote, calling the two institutions "colleagues and partners in that work."