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The University of Bridgeport
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Sacred Heart University withdrew from a multi-institution acquisition agreement in which it would have joined with Goodwin University and the Paier College of Art to each take on several University of Bridgeport programs, with leaders disagreeing about what drove the change.
The complex deal between different private universities in Connecticut, first announced at the end of June, called for turning the existing Bridgeport campus into a sort of university park. One leader involved likened the vision to an "academic food court" in which a shared infrastructure -- like a common library and security services -- supported students who could take different courses at neighboring institutions.
Bridgeport leaders still expect a modified deal to move forward without Sacred Heart. Goodwin University will absorb a set of programs Sacred Heart had been planning to take on, according to Bridgeport's president. Leaders at Goodwin did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
The presidents at Sacred Heart and Bridgeport gave different explanations as to why their deal went south. John Petillo, president of Sacred Heart, wrote a message to students, staff and faculty members Monday, citing a letter of intent provided when the deal was first reached. It promised Sacred Heart would be given enrollment and financial projections from Bridgeport. But the projections never materialized, Petillo said.
“Upon inquiry and verification by SHU, the enrollment numbers turned out to be significantly less than what we were led to believe,” Petillo wrote. “We made another offer, in line with the new projections, and that was turned down.”
Sacred Heart would not share further information about the enrollment and financial projections or the second offer.
“Regretfully, after completing our due diligence and an attempt to verify the finances, we are unable to move forward with this acquisition,” Petillo wrote in his message.
The university had been lined up to take on Bridgeport's engineering, chiropractic, education, counseling and nutrition programs. At the end of August, Sacred Heart dropped the schools of education and engineering from the deal, according to Bridgeport's interim president, Stephen Healey.
“I don’t want to argue with John in the press,” Healey said when asked about the enrollment and financial projections. “The programs there are solid. The chiropractic program outperformed its enrollment projection.”
He added that Bridgeport’s nutrition program also had a “healthy enrollment.”
Healey said that the unraveling of the deal came down to the timing of payment.
"The university doesn’t really control the timeframe for that," he said. "The bank does."
Bridgeport enrolls just over 5,000 graduate and undergraduate students. By comparison, Sacred Heart is larger, with 9,156 graduate and undergraduate students. Sacred Heart is the second college to back out of a merger agreement with Bridgeport, which has struggled to stay financially solvent in recent years. In 2019, a merger between Bridgeport and the much smaller Marlboro College soured.
The deal between the four Connecticut institutions being announced this summer may have contributed to conflicting enrollment expectations between the different parties, said Samantha Fisher, managing director with the consulting firm Accenture’s education practice.
“The timing of this announcement was at a very sensitive time in the admissions cycle for all colleges when they’re carefully trying to manage their melt over the summer,” Fisher said. “In the past, when I’ve worked on mergers, we have been very careful when to announce it, such that it wasn’t in the melt period.”
Uncertainty during the pandemic also could have made enrollment projections difficult.
Having multiple players adds to an acquisition's complexity, said Fisher, who added that she had never seen a deal involving so many colleges. Despite Sacred Heart’s withdrawal, she hopes colleges will still consider “creative” solutions like the original three-institution plan to acquire Bridgeport.
Bridgeport's president also noted that dealing with multiple institutions is a bit more difficult than dealing with one.
“It can be a little harder when you have more than one. We still do have more than one,” Healey said. “It’s not a huge surprise. It’s OK -- that’s how I see it. It’s time to move forward with Goodwin.”
It's unlikely that Sacred Heart's withdrawal will affect the timeline of the deal, which was originally forecast to close in 12 to 18 months, according to Healey. The deal still hinges on a variety of regulatory and accreditation elements, he said.
