Mid-Continent University closing after 65 years

MAYFIELD, Ky. — A Kentucky college with strong Southern Baptist ties will close its doors by June 30, citing a “myriad of circumstances” as the cause of its closure.

Trustees of Mid-Continent University near Paducah, Ky., met for more than three hours April 15 before announcing their decision to close the school, which was organized by western Kentucky pastors in 1949 with the endorsement of the West Kentucky Baptist Association. Mid-Continent moved to Mayfield, its current location, in 1957.

In December 2013, Mid-Continent received a second consecutive year of accreditation warning from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), its regional accrediting body. Among Mid-Continent’s deficiencies was failure to comply with SACSCOC institutional effectiveness standards and failure to demonstrate financial stability, according to the SACSCOC website. Mid-Continent also failed to comply with SACSCOC standards regarding its participation in federal student aid programs, the SACSCOC website said.

The Western Recorder reported in February that Mid-Continent was filing paperwork in hopes that the Department of Education would release $9 million in funding. While it waited for federal funds, Mid-Continent used between $7 million and $9 million of its reserve funds — a major expense relative to the university’s $22 million budget.