Copyright The Boston Globe
A private university in Boston has taken an unusual strategy in an attempt to right its stressed finances: cutting the number of undergraduate students. Simmons University, a women’s-focused institution in the city’s Fenway neighborhood, has “intentionally moderated” the number of undergrads it’s enrolled the last four years, said Laura Wareck, a spokesperson for the school. “By thoughtfully managing the size of each incoming class, we are able to create a more sustainable tuition model while also investing in financial aid and other initiatives that advance student success,” Wareck said in an email. Simmons awarded aid to 99 percent of first-time undergraduate students, an expensive recruitment tactic known as tuition discounting, that generally leads to less incoming revenue, according to federal data for the 2022-2023 academic year. The school’s website says it’s been working on a strategy to boost revenue through net tuition. Advertisement The strategy hasn’t paid off yet for Simmons, which was founded in 1899 and also offers co-educational graduate programs. Moody’s Ratings slashed its credit rating on Friday to junk and said the school is contending with operating deficits that are likely to last through 2028. Total enrollment at the school fell just over 20 percent from fall 2019 through 2023, according to federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics. The strategy by Simmons stands out in the increasingly competitive higher education sector, where many schools are trying to grow their student body to boost their bottom lines. In the Northeast, where many well-known institutions are located, those pressures are particularly intense. Moody’s analysts noted that Simmons was looking to decrease its undergraduate enrollment despite its favorable location and name recognition in the region. Advertisement Robert Kelchen, professor of higher education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, said it is “relatively unusual” for a school to want to decrease its number of undergrads. He said it is likely that Simmons is “trying to meet enough of students’ financial need that they just can’t afford to meet it for that many students.” “They’re probably better off cutting the size of their undergraduate student population a little bit, trying to discount a little bit less and then trying to grow revenue through other sources,” he said. Moody’s downgraded Simmons in 2022 and 2024 as well. “University management expects operating deficits through at least 2028 as it implements a plan to further refine programs and degree offerings to align with market demands,” the ratings firm wrote. The ratings company also called out the school’s “very high leverage.” Simmons had $269 million in debt outstanding at the fiscal year-end 2025. “In this challenging and rapidly evolving higher education environment, a change in rating is not uncommon,” Wareck said in an email. “As the only women-centered undergraduate institution in the city of Boston, Simmons has a critical role to play and we are pleased that the report acknowledges some of the key initiatives underway as we execute on our strategic plan.” With assistance from Elizabeth Rembert.
