Martin University, a private predominantly Black institution in Indianapolis, announced it will ‘‘pause operations’’ at the end of the semester amid persistent enrollment and financial shortfalls, no endowment and a history of operational instability. Trustees said they are seeking a path to viability and pledged to minimize disruption for remaining students; a decision to close has not been made. The move follows audits that raised ‘‘substantial doubt’’ about ongoing operations and an earlier cyberattack that damaged records. In Wisconsin, public universities adopted a new early‑warning metric to flag undergraduate programs with 15 or fewer juniors and seniors across a three‑year span, a change that could put roughly 65 programs—about 10 percent of offerings—under review. The system argues the enrollment‑based trigger is a timelier indicator than degree conferral counts and could accelerate program eliminations amid structural deficits. Together these developments signal a sharper posture among trustees and system leaders: institutions are prioritizing fiscal triage, program rationalization, and more aggressive monitoring. Academic leaders should prepare program sustainability analyses, community impact statements, and transition pathways for affected students.
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