Pending approvals from regulators, the college could combine with New York City-based Fedcap Group
By Chloe Bennett
Since 1946, hundreds of students have sought higher education at Paul Smith’s College each year in the Adirondacks. Now, the college is hoping to increase the number of enrollees through a merger with conglomerate nonprofit, Fedcap Group.
The merger is awaiting approval from regulators, including the New York State Education Department, said Interim President Nicholas Hunt-Bull, who has been with the college for seven years. He said he hopes the combination will be completed before December.
“I really don’t think anyone in the community should be concerned except in the sense that there’s some uncertainty and we can’t be absolutely sure how certain things are gonna come,” Hunt-Bull said.
The college, also a nonprofit organization, relies on tuition payments to keep afloat. But bringing students to the Adirondacks to complete a degree has proven to be difficult, Hunt-Bull said. Details of how the merger would mutually benefit the parties and how it would work is unclear. Fedcap was unavailable on Thursday.
The deal should allow the college to offer some of its programs in other markets, such as providing the school’s culinary instruction to Fedcap’s New York City network, Hunt-Bull said.
“Honestly, if we were really trying to survive on our current population of young adults, who were willing to live here for four years, that would be pretty bleak,” he said. “It’s really good news that we’re trying to find a way to serve some new populations and then continue to be able to serve the people we do now in the region.”
New York City-based Fedcap would become the corporate parent, Hunt-Bull said, with departments such as information technology, human resources and finance potentially moving under the company’s management. But the college does not expect layoffs as a result of the merger.
As of 2020, Paul Smith’s College was operating with a deficit of $594,999, according to tax filings. With the completion of the merger, Hunt-Bull said the college could see an increase in students reaching closer to 1,200, the campus’ capacity. This year’s enrollment number is between 600 and 700.
Offering more programs for students is also possible under a merger, Hunt-Bull said.
“I feel very confident that five years from now, we’ll be doing a lot of things that we don’t do now, but I think we’ll be doing the things we do now as well or better than we do them already,” Hunt-Bull said.
On Aug. 12, the Paul Smith’s College Board of Trustees is expected to appoint a permanent president of the college.
A New York State Education Department official asked the Explorer to submit a records request for any information.
Fedcap’s website says it has been around since 1935 and its work centers on workforce training and improving the economic wellbeing of people.
Developing “disruptive solutions to some of society’s most pressing needs,” it says it works with 250,000 people a year and developed an 80,000 square-foot training center.
Revenue for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2021, reached $337.2 millon, up, 23%, with operating expenses of $332.3 million, it reported.
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Since 1946, hundreds of students have sought higher education at Paul Smith’s College each year in the Adirondacks. This statement is false, thousands of students when I was there in the late 70’s. And the impact Paul Smiths has is worldwide, that is the more accurate statement iny opinion.
Looks to me that Fedcap is purchasing a campus and buildings on the cheap.
What does Fedcap offer to a small college looking for college students?
It could send students now; what is stopping them?
Why not see if the relationship pays off, before selling the entire school?
Paul Smith’s loses autonomy as a college, in return for what?
Is disappearing as an independent college necessary to recruit students? Where’s the logic?
I can see Paul Smith’s joining SUNY, but being swallowed by what is essentially a business, or a trade school, not a college, seems inappropriate and counter to the PS charter.
Your going to let an interim president take our college down this road??? Students come to PSC for the Adirondack experience. What happened to the monies the administration put in their pockets when they sold the hotel. This is clearly mismanagement by the administration and shame on the board of directors for allowing this mismanagement to continue. Time to clean house… management and directors
I don’t know what to think ! And I certainly do not know what the Paul Smith heirs think altho I can guess since they successfully stopped a name change for the college a few years ago. This is even more of a change. Fedcap has no students to send here.It is not a college. It is some strange non- profit and I do not see a symbiosis but the Administration and Board must. A yearly deficit of that size cannot be addressed by raising tuition – they are in a difficult space if they depend on donations from alumni and friends.
No heirs. Phelps Smith was the end of the line.
“But bringing students to the Adirondacks to complete a degree has proven to be difficult, Hunt-Bull said”. Difficult to attract students at $30,000/year tuition vs SUNY Potsdam at $8554/year is understandable.
60 years ago I graduated from Paul Smith college I found the college A lot has changed on Thursday all the old buildings have gone new structures have arrived Yet the college and the staff are wonderful still I went there We wondered why there Well I 16 or 17 people there from our class A 60th Anniversary reunion and We had a wonderful time And I what to thank the staff for doing all they could to make it a great weekend