Checklist: Institutional Closure

The decision to close a full institution is immensely difficult for any board and leadership team. Those contemplating this decision must pursue an analytical decision-making process that is unique to the institution’s situation, jurisdiction, and condition while recognizing that federal and state laws heavily regulate the process of closure.

Part of a series of checklists that accompanies United Educators' (UE’s) Guide to Manage Risks Associated With Program Change, this checklist provides detailed guidance on how to carry out a full institutional closure. It can be used in conjunction with the checklist on general planning for all program changes. It includes considerations for:

• Preliminary assessment and planning
• Prioritizing student interests
• Making faculty and staff decisions
• Federal student aid compliance
• Issues regarding business and affiliated interests
• Preparing and filing a plan of dissolution and other related filings