Apr 03, 2020

Officials say Nebraska Christian College closing this spring

Posted Apr 03, 2020 10:33 PM

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska Christian College has too few students to sustain operations so it must close at the end of this semester, officials said.

The college moved to the Omaha suburb of Papillion in 2006 after opening in 1944 in the northeast Nebraska city of Norfolk. The college merged in 2016 with Hope International University in Fullerton, California.

Students enrolled at the Nebraska school already are Hope International students by virtue of the merger, Hope International President Paul Alexander said in a news release Thursday.

"We fully understand that this news, initially, is shocking, unsettling, and disappointing for our students, but we want them to know that we will do everything in our power to assist them through this," he said.

Students may choose to transition to Hope International's California campus or complete their degrees online. Ministry students participating in residencies can continue at their host churches.

Enrollment jumped briefly to 140 students - a 27% increase - after the merger. But by spring 2020, enrollment plummeted to a 30-year low of 85. The decrease caused crippling operating losses, officials said.

"Good stewardship of God's resources requires that we take action, no matter how difficult," Alexander said.