Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | July 27, 2026 | wbjournal.com ment of about $39 million as of June. Dean College in Franklin has 1,001 students and a $64-mil- lion endowment. Assumption Uni- versity expects more than 2,100 students this fall and has a $107-million endowment. Every other private institution in Cen- tral Massachusetts has an endowment exceeding $500 million. "What is important is that colleges and universities understand their options and make informed choices," Stokes said. Offering unique experiences Like Nichols, Assumption is leaning into the characteristics that set it apart. "Small colleges are vulnerable if they commoditize – seeking to become all things to all people," said Bill Boffi, Assump- tion vice president of enrollment management. "[Assumption's strategic plan] resists com- moditization by strengthening our commitment to Catholic liberal arts education. "We choose growth by distinction." Instituted in 2024, Assumption's 10-year strategic plan rive focuses on enrollment growth. By 2028, the university aims to have 2,135 under- graduate and 500 graduate students, a 30% increase over 2024. e school is on track to achieve its goals, Boffi said. "While some liberal arts colleges are faced with closure or contraction, As- sumption is growing," he said. "rive reaffirms our confidence in each other, and in the kind of education Assump- tion provides." Assumption enrolled 524 freshmen in fall 2025, according to the school, the largest influx of first-year students on the Salisbury Street campus since 2016, a 42% increase in new-student enrollment over the last three years. Assumption and Nichols are ex- panding offerings, each agreeing to absorb programs and students from Anna Maria, including the Northeast's largest fire science bachelor's program (Nichols) and a nursing program As- sumption expects at least 75 students. Nichols, which has 76 deposits from Anna Maria transfer students and expects more, plans to launch its own fire science and emergency manage- ment program as early as fall 2027. BY FRED HURLBRINK JR. Special to WBJ B ack in the 1980s, a large billboard stood sentinel over the eastbound lanes of I-290 trumpeting Worcester as an oasis of higher education and listing the city's 10 colleges, infamously including one in Paxton and by 1989 the shuttered Central New England College. at Paxton school, Anna Maria College, buckled under financial strain and ceased operations in May, following in the footsteps of Beck- er College, which closed in 2021 as COVID-19's impacts exacerbated an already tenuous fiscal position. Today, Central Massachusetts remains home to 15 colleges and uni- versities, including eight in the city, as they grapple with a ra of existential challenges of rising costs and expens- es, public policy, waning consumer confidence, and a dwindling pool of potential students. To avoid becoming the next Anna Maria or Becker, these remaining schools are aggressively pursuing mul- tifaceted strategies to keep the lights on and are even seeing enrollment trends rebound from pandemic-in- duced decline. "Our institutional priorities are to strengthen our financial position through enrollment and endowment growth, including an upcoming capital campaign," said William Pieczyns- ki, president of Nichols College in Dudley, "and to reaffirm the commit- ments that make us uniquely Nichols – a small, close-knit community that's creative, collaborative, and singularly focused on student success." Up to 442 of the 1,700 private non- profit degree-granting institutions in the U.S. will arrive at the cusp of finan- cial exigency within the next decade, according to a report from Huron, a Chicago-based global consulting firm with an office in Boston. Endowments and enrollment are critical guideposts to determining col- leges' vulnerability. ose with fewer than 1,000 students and less than $100 million in endowment are most at risk, said Peter Stokes, Huron's managing director of strategy and operations. No private college in Central Mas- sachusetts falls under these thresholds, although three are close. Nichols has 1,300 students and a growing endow- Colleges under pressure Aer the closures of Anna Maria and Becker, Central Mass. colleges are pursuing new strategies to remain financially sustainable amid intensifying headwinds PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT Peter Stokes, Huron managing director of strategy and operations FOCUS E D U C A T I O N William Pieczynski, president of Nichols College in Dudley, sees enrollment and endowment growth as key to the college's future success. Bill Boffi, Assumption University vice president of enrollment management

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