Cleveland State could absorb Notre Dame College

CLEVELAND — For months, Notre Dame College in northeast Ohio has been at the center of the rumor mill. Many staff and students have expressed fears that the small school could be closing its doors for good.

On January 27th, Notre Dame College posted a statement on X, previously Twitter, confirming the school is struggling.

“Notre Dame College, like higher education institutions across the country, faces a number of challenges, including a shrinking pool of college-aged students and growing costs,” the school’s post said. “In response to these challenges, Notre Dame College continues to engage in strategic planning to develop options for our future, including a potential opportunity with Cleveland State University.”

Spectrum News reached out to NDC to request an interview, and they said there is no new information to share.

Cleveland State University sent a response via email.

“Our Board of Trustees Chair David Reynolds confirms that CSU did have preliminary meetings with Notre Dame College. It is accurate to say that those meetings were opportunities for both administrations to explore the feasibility of CSU potentially absorbing Notre Dame College,” the statement reads. “There have been no further developments since then, so CSU does not have anything else to add at this time.”

NDC freshman, Laila Farsane, said that she has not heard from an official about the school’s fate, but some of her professors have brought up the topic.

“To have that kind of looming over everything is a little bit anxiety inducing,” she said. “For a lot of students, that is something they have to think about and it is something they have to grapple with and figure out and actually put time into planning and reorganizing their whole lives.”