Hampshire College, located in Amherst, Mass., has long boasted an alternative approach to education. It does not have entrance exams, nobody receives letter grades, among other innovations. However, Hampshire, along with many other similar private liberal arts colleges, are facing financial troubles, dwindling enrollment, and talks of mergers and layoffs.
Hampshire is now setting its hopes on the generosity of its Alumni to generate funds and hopefully plug budget gaps. Its 80 year old founder recently took office as Interim President (setting his own yearly salary at $1), after its former President resigned after talks of mergers and a student occupation of the executive offices.
What does this say about the future of small private colleges and innovative attempts at education? Time will tell, but as of right now, its a very precarious situation.