Students enrolled at Siena Heights University in Adrian must determine the future of their post-secondary education in the wake of the school’s announcement that classes will end following the upcoming academic year.
Ashland University, an Ohio-based school located halfway between Cleveland and Columbus, has announced it’ll provide a full transfer of credits for students in good academic standing, according to a statement issued July 9. The school will also offer financial aid assistance and transfer support.
“We empathize with the challenging situation Siena Heights students find themselves in, and would happily welcome them to Ashland,” AU President Jon Parrish Peede wrote in the statement. “As an institution in a similar geographic setting, with many comparable academic programs and an emphasis on Christian values, we feel the transition from Siena Heights to Ashland would be a smooth one.”
Siena Heights students interested in transferring to Ashland can visit ashland.edu/transfer-students.
SHU, a Catholic institution, was founded in 1919 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. University President Douglas Palmer announced the school would close in a letter June 30, citing “shifts in demographics, declining enrollment, and rising costs.”
“For 105 years, Siena Heights University has been a beacon of light in a world sometimes cast in darkness,” Palmer wrote. “The spirit of Siena Heights will continue long after the institution itself closes its doors because it lives in every graduate, faculty member, and staff person who has been on campus — whether in-person or online.”
— Contact reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @cmurrayhdn.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Ohio’s Ashland University welcomes Siena Heights transfers in wake of closure announcement
Reporting by Corey J. Murray, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
