Troubled Morthland College Announces Closure

Morthland College, a small non-profit institution in West Frankfort, IL, announced that it will close.  The school held its first classes in 2011 and enrolled roughly one hundred students.  The college mission indicated that it offered a liberal arts education with "...founding principles rooted in the centrality of Jesus Christ...recognizing the Christian foundations of our country..."

WSIL-TV of Carterville, IL offers a short video and article on May 26, 2018 with reporting by Andrew Feather, "Morthland College to close."   The post includes a copy of the release from Morthland announcing the closing.  Feather also notes that "... year of bad news for the school, which included federal investigations, tax liens and hefty fines.Financial problems began at the college last year when it’s access to federal aid was cut off following an internal review by the Department of Education."  He adds that a year ago while the school owed the IRS $700,000 and the Department of Education had levied $2 million in fines for ethical and reporting violations, President Tim Morthland was claiming the institution was financially sound. 

WSIL-TV followed on May 27, 2018 with reporting by Hannah Gebresilassie, "Neighbors weight in on Morton College closing."

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page.  There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions.  Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.