Webster University assigned 'financial distress' designation

Webster Groves-based Webster University has been assigned a “financial distress” designation by the Higher Learning Commission.

Commission officials said Webster remains accredited while it “pursues efforts to address the circumstances that led to the designation." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch cited years of deficit spending and enrollment decreases.

University Chancellor Tim Keane reportedly said in an email to staff after the designation was issued that the school is on track to break even this year.

“The FY 2023 results were at least partially driven by the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on WU due to our business model that was premised on multiple geographic locations to promote in-person learning,” Keane said in the email of the commission designation.

Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.