Detroit's Marygrove College is permanently closing in December after more than 90 years.
The Catholic graduate college, sponsored by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), will close due to a continuing decline in student enrollment and persistent financial struggles.
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Marygrove opened in 1905 as St. Mary’s College in Monroe, Michigan, and in the city of Detroit for 92 years.
In August 2017, Marygrove decided to close its undergraduate programs due to similar enrollment pressures and the resulting financial impacts.
Marygrove President Dr. Elizabeth Burns said, “Marygrove’s grand experiment to transition to graduate-only studies was a brave and bold attempt to continue to serve students. However, intensive marketing and recruitment efforts have failed to attract enough students. Coupled with a heavy debt burden, the low enrollment numbers provide insufficient revenue to continue operations into the future.”
“Our 305 current students have been informed of the college’s impending closure,” Burns said. “In compliance with Higher Learning Commission requirements, Marygrove has entered into a teach-out agreement with Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, and will enter into agreements with other institutions as needed to ensure that Marygrove students who are within one year of degree completion can do so through one of our teach-out partner schools. The agreements are pending approval by the HLC. All students will receive financial aid counseling and academic advising.”
