It’s a tough world for higher education in America. But even with the cards stacked against small colleges, Hastings College is showing that through planning and partnerships, the numbers don’t have to be in the negatives.
If you’ve been reading recent headlines, it looks like a bleak time for American colleges and universities. “Can Small, Struggling Colleges Survive?” asked a June 2024 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Dozens of colleges around the United States have announced closures or mergers, citing limited finances, low enrollment, the pandemic or student commitments delayed by the simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.
There are concerns for students’ mental health. There are fewer college-age students overall.
It’s a time of change in higher education. But at the same time — isn’t that the way it has always been?
“Every year I’ve been in higher education, it’s not as if it’s always the same playing field and you can predict what’s going to happen,” said Dr. Rich Lloyd ’85, Hastings College president. “You have to have enough confidence in your own plan of what you’re doing and what you’re delivering that it is not dependent on an external environment that is completely calm.”
Midway through the fall 2024 semester, that’s exactly how Lloyd feels. Confident. Where other institutions are facing external changes on top of existing internal challenges, Hastings College has been steadily building key relationships, making updates that align with enrollment goals and student priorities, and looking not just for short-term wins but planning for future success.
This story originally appeared in the 2024 HC Today.
When Stars Strategically Align
Lloyd isn’t the only person to feel like there are good things both on the way for Hastings College and already here. For example, the partnership with the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation, which is majorly investing in the College by investing in scholarships, upgrades to campus housing and dining, and building a new residence hall.
“We just have so many stars aligning in position,” said Ann Martin ’77, chair of the Hastings College Board of Trustees. “It’s so exciting to be on the board at this time.”
In the past four years with Lloyd at the helm, she’s felt a stronger sense of unity across the institution. There’s trust in the administrative team, enthusiasm among the trustees, and team spirit in the students, staff and faculty.
“Just all over the college, everyone is pulling together, everyone is excited about what’s happening and what the future holds,” Martin said.
Recent metrics help, too—a record-tying enrollment of 347 first-year students in fall 2023, which helped boost Hastings to complete its 2023-24 fiscal year with a small surplus for “the first time in about a decade that I’m aware of,” Lloyd said. “It’s very much a win for the work put in by employees to reduce costs and allocate resources that align with our mission to offer an exceptional together-learning experience for our students.”
First-year enrollment didn’t reach Hastings’ goal of 318 students at the start of fall 2024, but the college beat its goals for transfers by 20 students. First-year enrollment was likely impacted to some degree by the delayed simplified FAFSA and the shift in some offerings, Lloyd said.
Student Insights Shape Discussions
In the past several years, significant resources were given to programs and initiatives that, although valuable to students, weren’t among their priorities for improvements to the campus or student experiences.
A panel of students who regularly meet with Lloyd told him what they and their peers really want to see first are improvements to housing and dining services. These insights have already led to changes: touch-ups made this summer to each residence hall with plans for future refurbishing, the planned remodeling of Hazelrigg Student Union in the next two years and the construction of the brand new residence hall starting this year with a scheduled opening in fall 2026.
“We think these projects will be more meaningful down the road,” Lloyd said. “And we want students to know that we’re investing in the things that matter most to them.”
These investments are also necessary to continue meeting enrollment goals and to attract prospective students. Last year, the campus was at around 95% occupancy and quarters remain near 90% this year, with two Bronco Village Apartment buildings housing six students per suite instead of four.
An Educated Bet
Even at close to full residential capacity, Hastings College remains a small community—an advantage often cited by alumni and a benefit seen quickly by prospective students.
That’s why when Lloyd talks about growth, he talks about scaling small and capitalizing on Hastings’ existing strengths — and asking “What are we already doing well, and how can we collaborate with those around us to offer even more?”
“It starts with the assumption that there are roughly 300 first-year students each year who value our kind of education, a vibrant learning and living community,” Lloyd said. “That’s the bet we’re making. It’s historically been what the college has been great at.”
It’s also a commitment to the continuing value of a liberal arts education. Students graduate with know-how for their careers along with skills like critical thinking, communication, ethics and civic engagement that set alumni apart both in and outside of their workplace.
Dr. Stephanie Furrer, professor of psychology who was Faculty Senate president last year, said academics have always been strong at Hastings, as well. Students leave well-rounded, she said, not just because they’ve received a liberal arts education but because the college has developed partnerships throughout the wider community.
“The internships, volunteer opportunities and service learning all go to our students because the college has good relationships with the Hastings and surrounding communities,” she said.
These relationships are deliberate and have developed over time, with the college recognizing the role that education plays in workforce development. Partnerships with Central Community College and Bryan College of Health Sciences also support access to education for central Nebraska. Students at all three institutions can receive the benefits of liberal arts, technical and health education. Which in itself is a draw to Hastings—where else can you find a community of 25,000 people with three distinct higher education institutions, Lloyd said.
“We’re really trying to articulate clearly that the liberal arts and our educational approach of breadth and depth is preparing students meaningfully for what’s next and what’s next after that,” Lloyd said. “It’s preparation for a life well-lived over the arc of their personal and professional lives.”
Building Momentum
Senior Alyssa Baker saw the value of Hastings College’s close-knit community immediately when she toured campus. Her high school in Arkansas had more than three times the population of the college and it was easy to feel lost in the crowd.
“Right from the get-go I was like, ‘I know I’m going to be successful,’” she said, after visiting as a high school sophomore and seeing how, even during a visit, staff and faculty were ready to help her build connections.
She decided her first year to become the Student Association president, and achieved her goal. Now, she’s working with younger students to keep momentum building for campus events and student organizations.
That momentum has been important in rebuilding the campus experience after Covid, although it doesn’t look quite like the experience that Dr. Sophia McDermott ’12, dean of student engagement, had in the decade prior. School dances aren’t as big, and low-key activities like crafts are popular for stress reduction. But students are still students, still trying to figure themselves out, she said.
“Their energy is exciting. They want to try new things, do new things,” McDermott said. “It’s shifting what a residential campus should look like and be more vibrant.”
And that’s something that makes McDermott excited to be at Hastings College again, at this point in time. She returned to Hastings after Presentation College closed in 2023, where she was dean of student life, and was frank with Lloyd when she applied about wanting to know where Hastings was as another small, private institution.
We’ll be okay, Lloyd told her then, and that statement has shown in the actions and decisions the college has taken in the time since. Like the partnership with the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation. That didn’t just come about from one conversation, but decades of networking, McDermott said.
“I think that shows that we’ve been doing something right for a long time,” she said.
