/ St. Norbert College is addressing its financial challenges through the “Preserving the St. Norbert Legacy: A Shared Promise of Stewardship 2024” initiative, which focuses on long-term sustainability while remaining true to its mission. In response to demographic shifts and inflationary pressures, the college is taking immediate action to manage its operating budget.
The plan emphasizes operational excellence by managing tuition dollars, reducing costs, making strategic investments, and pursuing new approaches to enhance academic quality and student success. This effort is guided by shared governance between faculty and administration.
Dear St. Norbert College Community,
I write today to share updates following the Board of Trustees meeting held on Oct. 11, including significant items considered and actions taken.
Executive Summaries and Institutional Dashboards
The Board reviewed Executive Summaries from President Cabinet members highlighting priorities, challenges, and achievements across the College as well as the following dashboards tracking institutional performance over time:
Meeting Schedule
The Board began its new one-day meeting schedule with its revised committee
structure to better address cross-divisional priorities and issues. The new committees include Finance/Organizational Sustainability; Academic & Student Experience; Audit, Risk & Information Technology; Governance; and Mission & Heritage.
Some key points from the materials and reports provided:
Full Board Session
Trustees participated in a Mission Reflection led by Fr. Johnathan Turba, O. Praem., reviewing the core Norbertine value of actio.
Each Trustee also received a copy of a 7-page letter followed by signature pages titled, “A Letter of Concern and Care for St. Norbert College” from SNC alumni and friends of Catholic and liberal arts higher education.
The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the following:
The Board discussed differences between Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and internal financial reporting. The management team will provide a reconciliation at least annually to the Board.
Senior Leadership Updates
Luyan Li, Ph.D., will join us in about a week as Vice President for Business and Finance/Chief Financial Officer. She will have about a week of overlap with Michael Guns to assist with her transition. The search for Vice President for College Advancement has been extended. While we continue to search for our next Vice President, we are working with The Registry to identify an experienced Interim to serve during the next several months.
Moving Forward Together
While I understand the range of reactions related to the College’s actions to address the significant operating budget challenges discovered last year, this work is essential to ensure a financially strong, sustainable St. Norbert College.Thanks to our collective efforts, we are making positive progress that will contribute to the College’s long-term vitality. As we begin to see the beautiful colors of fall, I hope you each have a few moments to reflect on the beauty around us.
With gratitude and faith,
Laurie M. Joyner, Ph.D.
President
St. Norbert College
Watch the video of this announcement here.
Dear St. Norbert College Community Members and Faithful Supporters,
I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the start of autumn. The past few weeks on campus have been brimming with joy, excitement, and tradition — from Convocation and the Mass of the Holy Spirit to the warm welcome of new and transfer students and families to the SNC community.
Most importantly, please accept my deepest gratitude to all of you — students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, donors, and friends of the College. SNC is in a period of adaptation, and thanks to your unwavering support, we have been able to protect our sacred mission.
Points of Pride
We continue to achieve significant milestones:
Mission and Heritage Update
A significant milestone was achieved this past spring when we re-established the Office of Mission and Heritage to animate our Catholic identity and Norbertine heritage throughout the College. The Rev. Matthew Dougherty, O. Praem., ’09, Ph.D., is serving as Special Assistant to the President for Mission Integration and Assistant Professor of Biology, and Emily Thelen, Ph.D., holds the position of Executive Director of Mission and Heritage.
To better align our mission-focused work, the following offices are reporting through the Division of Mission and Heritage: Campus Ministry; the Sturzl Center for Community Service & Learning; the Center for Norbertine Studies; the Norman Miller Center for Peace, Justice & Public Understanding; and the Killeen Chair of Theology & Philosophy.
The Mission and Heritage Office has attracted significant philanthropic support to bolster strategic initiatives, including the development of a six-part video formation series highlighting St. Norbert, the Rule of St. Augustine, and Norbertine values (action, contemplation, stability, and communio) for use in onboarding and ongoing formation efforts.
Campus Town Hall Meetings
Last week, we hosted two Town Hall meetings on campus. As essential members of our SNC community, I want to share with you some reflections on the progress we have made since launching the Preserving the St. Norbert Legacy: A Shared Promise of Stewardship plan, as well as some of the opportunities and challenges ahead.
The plan is a response to the directive of our sponsor, the Norbertine Order, and the Board of Trustees to deliver balanced annual budgets. Our collective efforts are proving successful in addressing the College’s most pressing issues through comprehensive actions aimed at transforming our financial model for long-term sustainability while maintaining our commitment to excellence, innovation, and communio
One example of collective efforts is the campuswide collaboration of the Task Force on Innovation. Since November 2023, the task force has reviewed 387 ideas submitted by the community and consolidated them down to 104 unique ideas. The task force identified six initiatives, each with significant potential to shape our future, as most promising and submitted them to my President's Cabinet and me for consideration. It shared the remaining ideas with the appropriate vice presidents for their review and consideration of incorporation into operational plans.
Annual Operating Budget
St. Norbert College is blessed with a talented community, beautiful campus, strong balance sheet, modest debt, and healthy endowment. However, the annual operating budget has presented significant challenges during the past few years. Just one year ago, SNC faced a $5M deficit in FY24 and a projected deficit of approximately $11M in FY25.
Our extraordinary efforts to align revenues and expenses during the past 12 months resulted in positive operating performance in FY24 and a projected balanced budget in FY25. This was exceedingly difficult but necessary work. I am grateful to those who helped achieve this remarkable progress by working together for the greater good of the College and its legacy.
As we prepare for FY26 and beyond, we must continue our transformation efforts to adapt to the changing landscape. Declining undergraduate enrollment is projected through the end of the decade due to a shrinking pool of college-bound students, changing college-going rates, and an incredibly competitive market. This reality demands that we rethink our operations, faculty and staff composition, and academic program offerings to serve our students best while remaining faithful to our mission. The goal remains to deliver mission-driven educational experiences while balancing the FY26 budget and beyond through cost-containing and revenue-generating strategies.
Academic Affairs and Aligning Operating Costs
Delivering on the promise of outstanding and affordable educational experiences will always remain our top priority, but aligning our cost structure with financial realities is critical. Valerie Martin Conley, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, is leading efforts to finalize recommendations that will streamline our curriculum and eliminate some programs. Rest assured that students who have declared programs will be able to complete their course program of study.
The process of seeking feedback from across campus and beyond will continue. Please know that we will not make any decisions lightly. Still, everything must be on the table to protect all the unique assets of this remarkable College that we are entrusted to preserve for future generations.
Enrollment Management and Revenue Generation
Our enrollment management team has worked on initiatives to stabilize our student body through recruitment and retention efforts. We are introducing new strategies, including personalized campus visits, expanded merit scholarships, and more robust outreach to underrepresented students.
Our athletics program is being strengthened with new competitive sports like STUNT (one of the fastest-growing female sports that incorporate skills derived from cheerleading and gymnastics) and ACHA Men’s Club Hockey to attract new students, increase community engagement, and drive advancement results.
Our revenue-generating initiatives focus on our students’ success by expanding innovative academic partnerships, implementing transfer-friendly policies, and strengthening financial aid and retention efforts.
Looking Forward
As we look toward the future, we remain steadfast in our commitment to our Catholic, Norbertine, and liberal arts mission. This vow requires decisive and courageous actions to meet the needs of our time and create a sustainable financial model for our beloved College.
Change is difficult. This is a challenging and emotional time for many. It will take all of us working together to ensure our College’s future. I am truly grateful for your dedication. Some are going above and beyond to partner with our recruitment, retention, and advancement efforts. Others extend their support through their own generous charitable contributions. We are grateful to each one of you.
Your support is vital as we work to overcome obstacles, embrace new opportunities, and emerge even stronger. Together, we will continue to preserve and build upon the legacy of this great College.
Watch video of this announcement here.
St. Norbert College has advanced a series of initiatives called Preserving the St. Norbert Legacy: A Shared Promise of Stewardship 2024. These initiatives represent a proactive approach to ensuring the long-term sustainability and success of the college. Strategic measures are being implemented to maintain academic quality, build a solid foundation for innovation and growth, and address the college’s cost structure. This translates directly into more opportunities for current and future students to receive a transformative education based on our three core traditions — Catholic, Norbertine and liberal arts — that prepares them for success in an ever-changing world.The plan is already delivering tangible results, including:
Additionally, the faculty and board of trustees have approved nine new academic majors, nine new academic minors, eight new concentrations and one new certificate program to provide students with expertise in high-demand areas. Such diverse and innovative learning opportunities empower students to become catalysts for positive change in their communities and careers. New offerings include an engineering physics major, supply chain management major, robotics minor, digital marketing minor and data analytics minor.
At the March 1, 2024 St. Norbert College Board of Trustees meeting, several recommendations were approved as part of the approved FY25 budget:
General non-personnel expense reductions. A collaborative effort across divisions to better align non-personnel expenses with actual activity and projected needs led to a budget decrease of $345,000.
Strategic use of endowment fund distributions. Annually, the College receives endowment distributions to support programs and initiatives across various divisions. A collaborative, cross-divisional analysis of these programmatic endowment distributions identified $177,000 to offset operating expenses.
Improved annual fundraising results. Thanks to the Advancement team’s good work, the College increased its annual St. Norbert Fund gift budget from $2M to $2.1M, a revenue increase of $100,000 annually.
Savings from health plan design adjustments. St. Norbert College implemented a retiree health plan phase-out effective 6/1/2024. With this change, retirees 65 or older will no longer be eligible to stay on the College’s health plan. During the next five years, the College is projected to save $262,000 annually ($136,000 in FY25).
Effective 1/1/2024, SNC increased the spousal surcharge from $100 to $300 per month. With this change, the plan experienced a significant shift in our employee plan selection and participation. These changes and an overall decrease in claims experience are projected to save the college $643,000 annually.
Increase in the Norbertine endowment distribution. The Norbertine Fathers generously committed to a multi-year increased endowment distribution to bridge the gap between projected revenues and expenses, preventing even more severe budget reductions. For FY25, this equates to nearly $900,000.
Personnel savings, including position and administrative expense reductions. The Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the Deans Council, analyzed key data sets from an outside vendor, rpk, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, and the Academic Program Prioritization process, which was led by the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee, to determine which non-tenured faculty lines should be eliminated to rightsize the faculty given multiple years of declining student enrollment.
For FY25, phase two reductions in Academic Affairs included personnel reductions (12 individuals impacted) and non-personnel reductions totaling $1,697,086.
To the St. Norbert Community,
Let me begin by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to colleagues across the college who have worked together to understand the challenges facing higher education and their impact on our campus. Demographic shifts, increased competition, and inflationary pressures are negatively affecting many institutions. St. Norbert College is taking immediate action toward creating a sustainable budget model that preserves our mission and ensures educational quality.
I am grateful for the collective leadership of our Board of Trustees, Norbertines, and campus community, for contributing to the numerous actions that comprise our developing stewardship plan. Many individuals have labored to make difficult decisions preparing us for an even brighter future as our college advances toward its sesquicentennial.
The Board of Trustees—notably Board Chair Fred Schmidt, Vice Chair Patti McKeithan, Finance Committee Chair Greg Nicklaus, and Vice Chair Phil Flynn—have demonstrated leadership in guiding efforts to address financial challenges that have been building in recent years. Their championing of our strategic actions reflects the collective resolve of the Board of Trustees to address the significant challenges and opportunities before us. Similarly, I am grateful for the support and generosity of Abbot Dane Radecki, O. Praem., the Abbot's Council, and our Norbertine colleagues as we work together to improve the college's operating performance and competitive positioning.
The unavoidable necessity of immediately addressing the college's financial situation prevented me from beginning my presidency as envisioned. However, during this process, I have grown to admire and cherish the ideals of St. Norbert College even more. My focus and commitment is to improve institutional performance so that we may continue to provide an outstanding, holistic education shaped by our three core traditions: Catholic, Norbertine, and liberal arts. Delivering on the promise of such a transformative education is the sacred mission driving our actions.
The college experienced two consecutive years of negative operating results (FY22 and FY23), and the FY24 budget showed a large deficit which we resolved through the reductions in Fall 2023, resulting in a balanced budget this fiscal year. In October 2023, the Board of Trustees directed the administration to balance the FY25 budget to address multiple years of negative operating performance, reduce future budget deficit projections, and prevent further erosion of the college's financial performance.
We considered multiple alternatives to balance the FY25 budget, including a substantial tuition increase, but our commitment to accessibility and affordability far outweighs such a consideration. Given this, we are responsibly reducing recurring expenses while ensuring educational quality and economic vitality. We continue our focus on mission integration, educational excellence, and student success while working to improve operations, contain costs, and identify ways to generate additional revenue.
Our work to protect our institution's legacy, itself part of the 900-year legacy of the Norbertine Order, involves immediate and long-range efforts. Just as personnel and operating cuts were necessary to balance the current year's budget, balancing the FY25 budget (June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025) again necessitates reductions. At last week's meeting, the Board of Trustees approved recommendations to balance the budget for the coming year, including:
More information regarding these decisions can be found here.
The collaborative work and leadership across the college that has helped to address the unexpected scale of budget deficits identified upon my arrival last fall has been extraordinary. As we address immediate financial shortfalls, we continue our ongoing work: Preserving the St. Norbert Legacy: A Shared Promise of Stewardship. Current strategic priorities inform this work and will be further engaged when the college launches its next strategic planning process.
Below are just a few of the many initiatives our community is pursuing to address negative operating results in recent years and position the college for future success:
Despite all of the planning, reductions, and improvements, it was only through the extraordinary generosity of our founder and sponsor, the Norbertine Order, that we could achieve the Board of Trustees' directive to balance the FY25 budget. Abbot Dane Radecki, O. Praem., and the Abbot's Council granted my recent request for an exceedingly generous, multi-year gift demonstrating their support for college leadership and efforts to advance institutional mission. The Norbertines continue to be agents for positive change in this community and worldwide. St. Norbert College seeks to emulate the Norbertine spirit of generosity by sustaining a caring community of learners committed to the greater good of the college and the larger community.
Despite the short-term challenges facing the college, our community has much to celebrate:
As we continue to work to preserve the legacy of our beloved institution, we will track and communicate our progress. Senior leaders will continue to work with students, faculty, and staff through appropriate shared governance processes to take the steps necessary to ensure the college remains a compassionate and supportive community of learners as we respond to the needs of our time.
We will successfully navigate these challenges together—preserving the noble legacy of the college to which we are heirs for the benefit of future generations. I look forward to continuing to learn, serve, and lead—together.
With gratitude and faith,
Laurie M. Joyner, Ph.D.
President
During the past few years, St. Norbert College has posted negative annual operating performance, meaning its expenses have outpaced its revenues. This is due to a number of external factors and internal decisions over time. Like many colleges nationwide, demographic shifts, changes in college-going rates, increased competition, rising discount rates and inflationary pressures have attenuated net revenue at SNC. Internally, despite St. Norbert College serving 350 fewer students as of fall 2023 as compared to fall 2018, the number of faculty FTE was the highest it has been in at least the past decade.
These dynamics are creating disruptions throughout the higher education sector. Fewer students attending colleges nationwide has led to more than 100 colleges and universities closing or merging since 2016. This underscores the urgency for decisive action while St. Norbert College is still fundamentally strong in terms of its balance sheet. Though difficult, SNC’s decisions to live within its means are required to maintain educational quality, ensure student success and prevent deterioration of its financial position.
SNC’s approach to fiscal responsibility by simply ensuring balanced annual budgets is aligned with its mission of promoting accessibility and affordability through generous financial aid packages. While we have heard students lament the nearly $45,000 annual undergraduate tuition sticker price, the average SNC student actually pays less than $19,000.
The Board of Trustees has directed the college’s leadership to present only balanced annual budgets. This will reduce future budget deficit projections and prevent further erosion of the college’s annual financial performance. Together with college leadership, President Joyner is focusing on mission integration, educational quality, and student success while working to improve operations, contain costs, and identify ways to generate additional revenue. SNC is putting students first by maintaining its commitment to accessibility and affordability while offering the same first-rate educational experiences.
The Preserving the St. Norbert Legacy: A Shared Promise of Stewardship initiative is a proactive approach to ensure the long-term sustainability and success of St. Norbert College. By implementing strategic measures to address financial challenges while maintaining educational quality, the college is laying a solid foundation for diversification and innovation. Successful innovation means more opportunities for current and future students to receive a transformative education that prepares them for success in an ever-changing world.
One of the initiative’s key aspects is its commitment to accessibility and affordability. By creating a sustainable budget model that minimizes tuition increases, St. Norbert College ensures that higher education remains accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. This commitment enhances the college’s reputation as a leader in education and fosters a more inclusive and equitable community.
These problems are not unique to SNC. Higher education institutions are facing many challenges, including declining enrollment, increasing competition, rising discount rates, and heightened scrutiny over the value of a college degree.
SNC is acting from a position of relative strength as it adjusts its staffing to mirror its student population. These actions are creating an even stronger foundation as we prepare to weather the headwinds facing higher education. President Joyner is an experienced college president who has successfully strengthened other schools facing similar financial challenges. In a time when the economic model of higher education is being seriously challenged, St. Norbert College is positioning itself to be a model for creating a mission-focused, student-centered and financially sustainable liberal arts college in the 21st century.
Together with college leadership, President Joyner has developed the Preserving the St. Norbert Legacy: A Shared Promise of Stewardship initiative. This plan focuses on mission integration, educational quality, and student success while working to improve operations, contain costs and identify ways to generate additional revenue.
We are committed to providing a transformational educational experience that changes the lives of students. Over the next few years, we will be adding new programs to meet the demands of the students and the current workforce. Starting in fall 2024, we are adding a Robotics minor, Sustainability minor, Data Analytics minor, Digital Marketing minor, Project Management minor, Game Development concentration, certificate in Arts Management, Engineering Physics major, Management major, Finance major, Marketing major and a Supply Chain Management major.
Additionally, in fall 2025, we will be offering two new athletic club sports which include STUNT and men’s ice hockey.
We will continue to renew and invest in the student experience – the curricular and co-curricular
– to offer a high-quality education and produce meaningful outcomes.
One way we can lead our institution through the challenges currently facing higher education is to enter into innovative partnerships such as this one to continue to provide students with an exceptional academic experience.
In a first-of-its-kind partnership in the region, UW-Green Bay (UWGB) has signed an articulation agreement with St. Norbert College (SNC) that will allow students in selected degree programs to seamlessly study at both institutions. Program partnerships may start as soon as fall 2024.
This sharing of resources provides students from the region (and beyond) with an opportunity to take classes more easily at either of the Northeast Wisconsin four-year campuses, regardless of campus
residence or enrollment. The agreement focuses on the students' needs and provides more
opportunities for degree pursuit where a student can augment the general education they receive at
one school with a degree program available at the other.
Currently, the following classes/program credits will transfer between SNC and UWGB:
Classes SNC students can take at UWGB:
St. Norbert College is proactively taking the steps needed to ensure its financial strength for the future. We are committed to adding new programs to meet the current demands of the students and the workforce, as well as position the college for future success.
Starting in fall 2024, we are adding these programs:
Additionally, in fall 2025, we will be offering two new athletic programs which include STUNT and men’s ice hockey.
We are currently assessing our areas of study to make sure we are positioning ourselves to meet the demand of our current and future students. This process of academic program review may lead to the discontinuation of programs no longer in demand. When colleges or universities discontinue a particular academic program (e.g. major or minor), they stop accepting new students into the program and teach out their existing students. Students can contact the Academic Advising & Career Development Center with any questions.
No. When students are admitted into an academic program, the college commits to supporting their progress through graduation from that program. When colleges or universities discontinue a particular academic program (e.g., major or minor), they stop accepting new students into the program and teach out their existing students. Students can contact the Academic Advising & Career Development Center with any questions.
The Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the Deans Council, analyzed key data sets from an outside vendor, rpk, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, and the Academic Program Prioritization process, which was led by the Curriculum and Education Policy Committee and selected members of the Interim Faculty Senate, to determine which non-tenured faculty lines should be eliminated to rightsize the faculty given multiple years of declining student enrollment.
Names or the programs where the personnel reductions have occurred will not be released in
accordance with our legal and ethical responsibilities to protect employee privacy.
We will support students to ensure that they can receive the classes they need to graduate. Our Academic Program Prioritization Process is considering the historic enrollment and current demand for all our academic programs. Any changes made to areas of study will take into account student demand and the ability of students to complete their course of study.
St. Norbert College is proactively taking the steps needed to ensure its financial strength for the future. These actions include revenue generation strategies and are likely to include additional reductions. These changes will be reviewed carefully so that we can continue to provide a high-quality education that is accessible and affordable for generations to come.
St. Norbert College values the liberal arts as one of its three core traditions. As is described in the college’s Liberal Arts Identity Statement, “The liberal arts tradition inspires in its students a love of learning and provides the skills requisite to carry their learning beyond the confines of the College environment to extend over the course of a lifetime. In today’s fast-paced world of change, an education that emphasizes lifelong learning is critical in that the specific skills taught today may find themselves antiquated tomorrow, but the ability to continually teach oneself is a skill that will never find itself out of date.”
The liberal arts is broadly inclusive, comprising the Humanities, the Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and the Visual and Performing Arts.
One of the college’s priorities is our commitment to accessibility and affordability. By creating a sustainable budget model that minimizes tuition increases, St. Norbert College ensures that higher education remains accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. This commitment enhances the college’s reputation as a leader in education and fosters a more inclusive and equitable community.
To make college more affordable, we offer generous financial aid packages. Annually, about 97 percent of our first-time, first-year students receive some form of financial aid, which can include scholarships, grants, loans and work-study. In terms of cost, an education from SNC is competitive — both with other private colleges and with public ones. It’s important to know that SNC also has a four-year graduation guarantee and one of the best four-year graduation rates in the Midwest. Graduating in four years means our students pay for college for fewer years than students in many other schools, and begin earning a salary ahead of many of their peers.
Due to the generosity of St. Norbert College alumni and stakeholders, the construction of a state-of-the-art business school is underway. This building will not serve business students exclusively; its indoor and outdoor spaces are being designed to welcome and benefit all of campus along with the local community. More than one-third of SNC students take a business course during their time on campus. Our goal is to keep SNC on the cutting edge of academia by providing top-level facilities to current and future students.
We are here to help and address any questions or concerns. For questions regarding academic programming, you can reach out to:
Division of Academic Affairs
Email: acadaffairs@snc.edu
Academic Advising & Career Development Center
Phone:920-403-3040
Email: advise@snc.edu
Office Hours: Mon.-Friday: 8:00 a.m - 4:30 p.m.
Division of Student Affairs
Phone: 920-403-3055
Email: sadivision@snc.edu
Questions regarding the Preserving the St. Norbert Legacy plan can be emailed to: preservingthelegacy@snc.edu
