A private college in Lincoln will close its doors in May after 157 years.
Lincoln College has notified the Illinois Board of Higher Education that it intends to close for good on May 13th. The school says it had record-breaking enrollment as recently as 2019…but the COVID pandemic sent enrollment figures plunging, while forcing the school to make costly upgrades in technology and campus safety.
The picture was further complicated by a cyberattack last December that shut down its computer systems for student recruitment and retention, as well as fundraising. When those systems were finally restored this month, the school says it was clear that it would fall far short of enrollment levels needed to survive.
