John Willoughby
ECB Publishing, Inc.
After years in partnership with North Florida College (NFC), Saint Leo University is planning to close their Madison Education Center, as NFC was informed of the closure in a letter addressed to NFC President John Grosskopf on Tuesday, May 5.
"In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Saint Leo University, as did most institutions of higher education, made alterations to its business operations and education delivery methods," said Dr. Melanie Storms, senior vice president of Saint Leo University.
"Although Saint Leo was uniquely positioned to transition all academic programming to online delivery, given depth of our virtual student support services and experience with online education, the unprecedented challenges of the past two months have caused the university to review how best to provide a quality education experience to our students nationwide."
As a result, Dr. Storms adds, Madison Education Center will be among other location closures as part of a "strategic decision to reduce our physical footprint."
She continued: "Accordingly, we will no longer be enrolling new students into on-ground classes after the Summer 1 term. All students currently enrolled will be able to complete their degrees with Saint Leo through our online courses where they will have full access to our robust virtual student support services."
It was added that university officials will work with NFC officials to develop a detailed timeline on exact closure dates and teach-out plans for current students, hoping to provide for a seamless transition to the university's fully-online delivery platform.
President Grosskopf informed the NFC Board of Trustees of the impending closure during a meeting held on the evening of Tuesday, May 19, wishing the institution well.
"We are sorry to lose such a great long-term education partner, but we completely understand the need to reconfigure operations to adapt to current situations," Grosskopf stated. “We wish our friends well and look forward to seeing what comes next for Saint Leo University.”
Founded in 1889, Saint Leo University serves as the oldest Catholic institution of higher education in Florida. Today, Saint Leo University serves over 13,000 students from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, three U.S. Territories and over 80 countries. More information regarding Saint Leo University can be found by logging onto saintleo.edu.