University of Providence to shutter in 2027

The University of Providence, a private liberal arts Catholic school in Great Falls, will close Aug. 20, 2027 the university announced Tuesday, citing ongoing financial struggles.

University President Caroline Goulet said falling enrollment and financial pressures as the reasons for the school closing its doors in a video posted to its website.

The school “pursued multiple paths to secure the university’s future,” she said in a video.“Despite those efforts, we could not find a financially sustainable way forward.”

The school’s board of trustees voted unanimously on Tuesday to shut down the university, which is located on a 44-acre campus made up of 17 buildings near Benefis Hospital. 

“While this chapter of the university’s history is ending, its mission and impact will endure through the generations of graduates, faculty, staff, Sisters and partners who have carried the spirit of Providence into their communities,” Terry Cosgrove, the chairperson of the board, said in a press release. “We are committed to honoring that legacy with the same compassion, dignity and integrity that have guided the university since its founding.”

The board said that a planned closure would be easier than an abrupt one. 

Several webpages created by the university added details about the decision.

“The university’s circumstances also reflect broader pressures reshaping small private colleges across the country, particularly institutions serving smaller and rural communities,” a webpage said, adding a merger and acquisition were also discussed.

In 2025 the university had $28.6 million in revenue and $35.6 million in expenses, with total assets valued at $48.6 million, according to ProPublica.

“The board concluded that closing the university with care was the responsible path forward,” the university said in its communications released Tuesday.

‘Questions about what comes next’

The university has separate student and facility webpages with additional information about the closure. Students will face decisions about transfers, credits, and degree recognition; whether they can graduate and what happens if faculty leave before the end of the year. 

The Montana University System said in a press release that it would support Providence students seeking to find a new school. The school had 630 students and 244 total employees.

“We know University of Providence students have invested significant time, effort, and resources in their education, and this news brings difficult questions about what comes next,” Montana Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian said in a press release. “Our message to those students is simple: You do not have to navigate this transition alone. The Montana University System is here to help you find a path forward that builds on your progress and supports your goal of earning a degree.”

Staff now face questions dealing with benefits and employment details.

What to do with the school’s endowment is still under consideration, according to the university. Reports show the university having about $20 million in its endowment.

The school is still taking donations, and those will be used to help current students — specifically offering scholarships to cover the cost of tuition for students during the summer 2027 session, and reducing graduate tuition for students.

Existing donors will also be contacted to discuss alternatives true to the “original intent and purpose” of those endowment and scholarship funds.

“The university is working with legal counsel on the steps required to permit use of endowment funds as scholarship support for continuing students, consistent with donor intent and applicable law,” a school webpage says. “These funds would help students complete their education before the university closes.”

‘Times change’

The school is a private, Roman Catholic liberal arts university, founded in 1932 by the Sisters of Providence.

That religious order, which was founded in 1842 in Montreal, opened schools and hospitals in Montana as early as 1864, according to the university. The Sisters of Providence came to Great Falls in 1892 to open the city’s first hospital and four decades later, the school in cooperation with the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings. 

It was called the College of Great Falls at the time, before changing to the University of Great Falls in 1995 and finally the University of Providence in 2017.

However, about 10 years after the school opened, the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings relinquished control of the university to the Sisters of Providence. 

The Sisters of Providence also grew into a major hospital provider across the West — the healthcare branch of its work, Providence Health & Services, now includes 51 hospitals, 1,002 clinics and 119,000 employees across five states. 

The university said the healthcare service had provided “substantial financial support to keep the university open while it searched for a viable and sustainable operating model.”

Issues at Providence Health also contributed to the university’s demise, as they were contributing about $8 million annually to the school, which was cut, according to the Montana Free Press. 

The school formally declared a financial exigency in December 2025 and sought to address the issues.

Providence Ministries, which is also associated with the university, said the Sisters of Providence saw a need in Great Falls and looked to fill it.

“Because of this ministry, thousands served in hospitals, classrooms, businesses, and communities throughout Montana and beyond,” Mary Anne Sladich-Lantz, president of Providence Ministries said in a press release. “But times change. The path forward for many small, private universities across the country is uncertain. Financial sustainability is no longer feasible.”

‘Cannot be measured in dollars alone’

The university was known for its nursing program and also had majors in criminal justice, biology, healthcare administration and psychology, among others.

In Great Falls, the news was met with sadness by Mayor Cory Reeves, who called it a “huge loss” for the city.

“For me, this one is personal,” Reeves said in a statement. “It’s where I went to college, earned my degree, and met my wife. The University of Providence will always hold a special place in my heart, and I’m grateful for the role it played in my life.”

He added it was more than losing a college.

“Its impact on Great Falls and Montana cannot be measured in dollars alone,” Reeves added, who said he was “truly saddened” by the news.

The school mostly competed athletically in the Frontier Conference, which also includes a number of other Montana schools. Some sports, including wrestling and soccer, competed separately in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

The University of Providence had successful sports programs including a volleyball program that has won five Frontier Conference titles — four of which came in the last six years — and advanced to multiple NAIA national tournaments in the last two decades. 

The women’s basketball team made the NAIA’s Final Four during the 2023-24 season, and the school also notably had one of the few wrestling programs in the Mountain West.

Frontier Conference Commissioner Scott Crawford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.