580
Students remaining
down from 1,420
$5.3M
Annual deficit
and growing
$22M
Deferred maintenance
buildings aging
May 2028
Reserves run out
~18 months
The Narrative
Dr. Linda Vasquez is sitting in her office on the second floor of Founders Hall, looking out at a quad that used to be full of students. Today, there are maybe a dozen people crossing it. Two of them are maintenance workers.
Linda has been president of Edgewater College for four years. She took the job because she believed she could turn things around. She was wrong — not because she lacked ability, but because the math was unbeatable.
Edgewater College
Private, nonprofit liberal arts institution. Founded 1921. Millbrook, Pennsylvania — a small city of 18,000 people, 90 minutes northeast of Pittsburgh, in a county where the population has declined 11% since 2010. Sits on 87 acres with 14 buildings totaling ~185,000 sq ft. Nearest community college: 35 miles. Nearest hospital: 8 miles.
The Campus
Founders Hall
Administration, classrooms, faculty offices
1924, renovated 2003
The Science Center
Biology, chemistry, physics labs; greenhouse
1968, updated 2015
Morrison Library
45,000 volumes, computer lab, study spaces
1952
The Arts Building
Theater (320 seats), art studios, music rooms
1971
The Student Center
Dining hall (seats 300), bookstore
1985
The Gymnasium
Basketball court, fitness center, lockers
1978
Residence Halls (3)
380 beds total, varying condition
1965–1988
The Chapel
Nondenominational, seats 200, events
1932
The Fieldhouse
Athletic fields, concessions, bleachers
1992
The Welcome Center
Admissions and alumni relations
2010
The Numbers
The People
Dr. Linda Vasquez — President
4 years. Previously VP Academic Affairs at a school that merged in 2023. She's seen this before.
Thomas Whitfield — Board Chair
12 years on the board. Local business owner (auto dealerships). His father graduated Edgewater in 1958.
Peggy Stahl — CFO
8 years. Exhausted. Managing the decline with skill and honesty. The board trusts her numbers.
Dr. James Okonkwo — Provost
2 years. Came from a larger institution. Increasingly frustrated. Quietly exploring other positions.
Rosa Medina — VP Enrollment
5 years. Works incredibly hard. Discount rate keeps rising because it's the only way to fill seats.
Dave Kowalski — Facilities Director
22 years. Knows every pipe and wire. Deeply loyal. Terrified of losing his job.
The Board Meeting
On a Thursday evening in October, the Board of Trustees meets in the Morrison Library conference room. Thomas Whitfield opens:
“I’ll be direct. Peggy’s projections show us running out of operating reserves by May 2028. The endowment is being drawn down at 8%. Our accreditor has questions we may not be able to answer in the spring. Enrollment is not going to recover. One real estate firm offered $6–8 million for the full property. That wouldn’t cover our bond debt.”
Linda speaks:
“Before we go down the sale path, I want us to consider an alternative. I’ve been in contact with a company called Transform Learning. They help campuses like ours transition into community learning and workforce centers. Not a college anymore, but not a demolition site either.”
Sandra Chen asks:
“What happens to accreditation? What happens to the students? What happens to the faculty? I have a lot of questions.”
Thomas nods. “We all do. Let’s hear them out.”
Over the next three weeks, the Transform Learning team conducts remote discovery — video calls with campus leadership, a walking video tour from Dave Kowalski, financial document review, census and employer research, outreach to the workforce board, school district, and local employers.
Thomas asks: “Give us your honest assessment.”
Your Turn
Click any question to see existing responses, submit your own, and run an AI analysis. Anyone can answer anything — build on each other, challenge ideas, add detail.
Section A
Thomas and Linda need a straight answer. Is transformation viable for Edgewater?
Section B
The hardest questions — what happens to the 580 students and 34 faculty who are here right now?
Section C
What does an AI Learning Hub actually look like in a building from 1968 with WiFi that barely works?
Section D
Millbrook is a small town of 18,000. How do you discover demand that might not be obvious — even remotely?
Section E
The CFO wants real numbers. The board chair wants to know who pays. No hand-waving.
Section F
Dave has been here 22 years. Thomas's father graduated in '58. The alumni will be furious. How do you handle the people?
Section G
Paint the picture. It's two years from now. What does a Tuesday morning look like on this campus?
Section H
When does it start? When do we tell people? When do we break even? And what if it doesn't work?
Section I
Write the memo. This is the document that determines whether they hire us.
How You’ll Be Scored
Specificity
Does your answer reference Edgewater's buildings, people, and numbers — or could it apply to any campus?
Honesty
Do you lead with candor? Do you hedge appropriately? Or do you oversell?
Feasibility
Is what you're proposing actually doable? With realistic timelines and costs?
Empathy
Do you speak to the humans — Dave's 22 years, Thomas's father, the 580 students?
Edgewater College is fictional. All data is illustrative, based on composite patterns from real closures.
Campus Transformation — Transform Learning — Confidential Training Material