I watch the online, for-profit university scene. I work for two of them and know one of their junior executives.
No one has given me this scenario. I have constructed it from what has happened to several other small colleges.
A degree is worthless unless it is accredited by one of the national associations. The University of Phoenix began with a struggle over its status. Sperling's dream succeeded so quickly in California that the professionals yanked its accreditation. Sperling picked up and went to Phoenix, where a different association prevailed and gave its blessing. The last I heard, UOP had 400,000 students.
That accreditation is worth $10 million in time and money. Failing colleges (even MLC!) have that status, in most cases. It allows for student loans and credibility in the job market. Online corporations buy the school for the accreditation, plus some decaying buildings and a musty library.
For-profit corporations look for failing, accredited colleges. They buy them, keep them going as a local campus, spend money on them, and branch out with online programs. They can do business in any state that allows them to operate. The libraries are online, too.
I would be shocked if no one has approached MLC for a sale. In my scenario, it would be a win for both sides. The school would be deployed elsewhere, as planned, with plenty of cash in the kitty. They would take the much-abused Sprinter statue along. The Luther statue would stay, since the school would be more Lutheran once the Fuller faculty departed.
The New Ulm campus would remain as a local college, with a possible name change, such as Marvin's Little College, but most of the students would be online. Online students would provide most of the cash flow. Many people like the idea of having a school with a real campus, even if they never visit it.
They might even keep the name of the college. That has happened with several denominational colleges, even though they cut their church ties. I can think of three church colleges where the name stayed the same. A fourth would have happened, but the state got angry with onlines and prevented the sale. The college (Dana - where our college band once visited) closed down.
