IW announces presumptive partnership with Saint Leo University

Iowa Wesleyan University signed a letter of intent with Saint Leo University in St. Leo, Fla., to partner with them in their alternative futures project, university president Steve Titus announced during a news conference on Tuesday, April 30.

The future partnership with Saint Leo University is a result of Iowa Wesleyan University's quest to find a partner who could help them create a sustainable future. In November 2018, IW announced that they were struggling to stay open through December 2019, citing financial difficulties. They sent out 242 requests for proposals (RFPs) to other universities and organizations and created a New Directions Team to pursue partnerships. They received 13 responses, four of which were seriously considered by the New Directions Team, Titus said.

Titus said they are prepared to make a formal and public announcement when the partnership with Saint Leo University is officially finalized by early June. IW entered into an exclusive relationship with Saint Leo by executing a letter of intent and a mutual nondisclosure agreement on March 11. Since then, they have been conducting due diligence and are in the final stage of preparing to approve a definitive agreement, which is currently being reviewed by lawyers.

Titus said that the letter of intent states that the goal is to have the definitive agreement executed on or before May 30.

'We're awaiting lawyers at this point to get the draft of the definitive agreement done. We'll have our legal team review it and get it finalized,” Titus said.

Titus said they are also waiting for the university's accrediting boards to approve the partnership. IW is a member of the Higher Learning Commission and Saint Leo is a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

'It's not a finalized partnership at this time, but we are hoping that will occur at the end of May,” Titus said. 'It's a complicated process similar to that of a merger and acquisition. It takes time. Higher education is a very regulated environment. We want to make sure we are respecting and honoring the requirements.”

The IW name 'likely will not change,” Titus said, while speculating that they might add something like 'a partner of Saint Leo University” or 'a campus of Saint Leo University.”

'Stay tuned on that. As soon as we confirm all that, we'll let you know,” Titus said.

Titus did say that IW will keep their colors of purple and white and will remain the Tigers. They also will remain an institution with the United Methodist Church.

While there will be an integration of operations between the two institutions, IW will have a fair amount of autonomy while also setting their targets and being held accountable for those with Saint Leo, Titus said.

A Delightful Visit

Dr. Jeffrey Sense, president of Saint Leo, and his colleagues visited the campus of IW on Monday, April 29. They met with faculty and staff, students, the board of trustees and key stakeholders, Titus said.

'Yesterday was really just a signal to everyone that (the partnership) is a resounding yes,” Titus said, adding that he does not foresee any complications to arise before finalizing the agreement. 'I'm very excited. I'm excited for the institution, for our community, for our students and our faculty and staff. This is special. When this gets to the finish line, this will create an institution in southeast Iowa that has never, ever existed.”

Like IW, Saint Leo is a private, faith-based, not-for-profit university. It was founded in 1889 in Saint Leo, Fla., and is the first and oldest Catholic institution in Florida. It is currently the second largest Catholic institution in the U.S. with an enrollment of 13,000.

Saint Leo has centers in eight states, attracting students from all 50 states and 90 countries. They have 60 undergraduate programs, a strong online program and masters and doctoral programs.

'It is known for very, very entrepreneurial and very successful,” Titus said. 'It has really ambitious aspirations. They see Wesleyan as a part of helping them achieve that.

Titus said higher education institutions are closing at a 'rapid pace” in the U.S. There is a lot at stake for how IW could affect the landscape of higher education in the U.S. in the future, and IW and Saint Leo is on the front end of what will be a future trend for higher education, he said.

'We're going to see more and more institutions consolidate. We're on the front end of what I believe is going to be a national trend. To be able to partner with an institution like Saint Leo with those kinds of ambitions and that kind of vision and foresight is very exciting on a national level in terms of a model for higher end and exceptionally exciting for IW and what it may mean for how we re-imagine rural education.”

Finding a partner to help IW create a sustainable future was never about saving IW for IW's sake, Titus said.

'This has been about re-imagining an institution for the sake of a region,” Titus said. 'That has been very important. For the institution just to be committed to saving itself, that's not good for the region. We needed to think about our mission. This is not only about strengthening higher education and Iowa Wesleyan, it's about strengthening Mt. Pleasant and the southeast Iowa region.”

IW 2019-2020

enrollment

Titus expects fall 2019 enrollment to look 'really good.”

'The heart and foundation of it is your existing students. Our existing students have said, ‘This is where we want to be,” and they continue to come back because of the experience.”

In January, Titus said the university had the highest head count and persistence rate since 2014. Students registered for fall 2019 have already exceeded where IW was a year ago, having reached 101 percent budget for returning students and 108 percent budget on international students. Titus said that IW has exceeded the number of inquiries, applications, acceptances and campus visits from a year ago. While deposits are lagging from a year ago, Titus said deposits to universities are lagging across the country.

'I think the update that Saint Leo University is our presumptive partner will have an extraordinary impact,” Titus said.

There will be no changes to tuition in the 2019-2020 academic year for IW students, Titus said.

IW Online and International Students

Titus believes that a partnership with Saint Leo will increase IW's capacity to 'scale.” He has been vocal about his goal to grow the institution from their current head count of 635 students to 1,000 undergraduate students. Saint Leo is very committed to that goal as well, he said.

'I think we might be able to scale sooner rather than later,” Titus said, speculating that they could see IW grow to 1,000 students in less than five years.

Titus said they have planned for that growth already, having added three new residential buildings this year - Juckette Hall and State Street and Adam Street apartments.

At some point, however, he said they will need to update and expand campus housing and academic buildings.

'I think people driving through in seven years will say, ‘Wow, this is different,'” Titus said.

The partnership will be 'relatively seamless” in some ways, Titus said, with many of the changes being made to 'backroom operations” that aren't visible to the general public.

Immediate changes, however, will be growth to IW's online program.

'You will see on the online, we will growth pretty quickly. There's flexibility to do it sooner rather than later and the ability to enhance revenue will have a fairly immediate impact,” Titus said.

Saint Leo embarked on offering programs online in the 1970s, and have a 'robust” infrastructure for online programming that will help IW expand and grow, Titus said.

Titus does foresee expansion to academic programs. Titus said IW is always 'testing the market” to understand what is needed in southeast Iowa. Their social work program that was launched a year ago was in direct response to the mental health crisis in the region, Titus said.

'We can bring in more programs online quicker ... I don't know what those programs will be yet,” Titus said.

Saint Leo is also very committed to international education, growing their program from 450 international students to 650 students for the fall of 2019, and establishing their Office for Global Engagement just a couple of years ago, Titus said.