St. Charles’ Lindenwood U. to acquire technical school

The university’s nonprofit parent plans to acquire a technical training and professional development provider next year.

Ancora Education will be Lindenwood Education System’s second acquisition in the past two years.

In March 2023, the system brought Dorsey College under its hood. The acquisition marked the first step in Lindenwood’s plan to build a network of schools with complementary programs under President John Porter, a former IBM executive.

Ancora primarily provides online education for technical careers. It offers courses for professional development and operates an online Ancora High School for adults to obtain their high school diploma. One of its four divisions, Ancora Education, offers training specialized in health care, information technology, business, and skilled trades through five other brands, including the Arizona Automotive Institute and South Texas Vocational Technical Institute.

Founded in 2013, Ancora will operate as a separate entity and maintain its own accreditation separate from Lindenwood and Dorsey College. Leadership will not change, and Ancora faculty and staff will “generally remain unchanged,” Ancora President and CEO Bill Nance said in a Dec. 19 notice.

Ancora serves about 7,000 students annually both online and at on-ground locations, according to a press release. Lindenwood U. reported an undergraduate enrollment of 4,664 this fall.

Lindenwood’s finances are “strong and stable,” Porter, the university’s president, told the Post-Dispatch in June. Still, the university experienced layoffs and froze about 50 positions earlier this year as part of an effort to cut 10% of its operating budget.

The Lindenwood Education System had $137.7 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 2023, a sharp drop from when revenue neared or exceeded $200 million pre-pandemic, tax filings show.