AIB enrollment plummets following news of ‘regents center’

When Des Moines-based AIB College of Business begins its final academic year in the fall, 356 students are expected to be registered for classes - about one-third of the 1,019 enrolled last fall, before news of the school's imminent closure.

Of the 786 AIB students enrolled when the spring term began in March, 553 could graduate before the school shutters in June 2016, according to documents made public this week.

The remaining 233 'will need to transfer to another institution to earn a degree,” according to a 'teach-out plan” required by the Higher Learning Commission after administrators in February announced the 94-year-old business college would become a regional center for Iowa's state universities in summer 2016.

Any AIB students wanting to remain on the campus after the transition would have to apply and meet admission requirements.

According to the newly released teach-out plan, AIB expects to enroll 461 students this summer, 356 students in the fall, 276 students for the winter term, and 185 students for the final spring session. Those enrollment estimates take into consideration graduations, withdrawals, and re-entries - students wanting to rejoin the college who can graduate by the 2016 closure.

Withdrawals can be difficult to predict, according to the plan, but the school's registrar came up with a forecast based on historical trends and discussions with athletic coaches. Other possible reasons for withdrawing considered for the estimate included 'anger or uncertainty,” advice from parents, and the inability to move more quickly toward graduation due to financial hardship.

The school expects 200 withdrawals by the end of the spring term this week and another 25 during the summer session, according to the documents.

As a result of the dwindling student numbers, AIB in April announced 17 of its about 80 full-time staff members were notified their positions would be eliminated June 8.

'It is anticipated that additional positions will be eliminated later this year,” according to a news release. 'Evaluation of enrollment and operational needs will be made on an ongoing basis.”

AIB is keeping a core number of staff through its closing, and those individuals have been given contracts outlining their employment, officials said.

On Tuesday, AIB announced it will reduce summer office hours and most departments will be closed on Fridays, beginning May 29. Full-time employees remaining 'can enjoy a 20 percent reduction in work hours with no change in pay.”

AIB also has identified two other Iowa colleges that will help with AIB's teach-out efforts. Grand View University in Des Moines will help serve on-campus students, and Buena Vista University in Storm Lake will assist online students.

A timeline provided in the documents indicates AIB will hold its final graduation June 5, 2016, and it will lose degree-granting authority immediately after.

Iowa Code lists the UI Office of the Registrar as the state's official repository for academic records of defunct Iowa colleges, and all AIB records will be transferred between the final graduation and June 30, 2016, the teach-out plan states.