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Dr. Jim Malatras, chief strategy officer and vice president of education for The Fedcap Group, told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV that his organization contacted the college's leadership shortly after the 156-year-old Aurora institution announced it will close at the end of the spring semester.Ìý

A formal request was sent on Friday, according to Malatras. So far, the college has not responded.Ìý

The Fedcap Group is a nonprofit with links to dozens of affiliates and companies, including Apex Technical School. The organization has four practice areas: Economic development, education, health and workforce development.Ìý

What the organization has been seeking, Malatras said, is to have an association with a college through an acquisition or partnership. FedCap of Paul Smith's College in northern New York, but there were regulatory hurdles and the school decided to end its collaboration with the group.Ìý

Malatras thinks Fedcap's pipeline — the organization serves 230,000 people annually — could help Wells address declining enrollment, which is the main cause of the college's financial woes. From the 2016 fiscal year through 2022, enrollment fell by nearly 40%. With fewer students, the college relied on other sources of funding, such as contributions and grants.Ìý

There are other resources Fedcap can offer, such as financial expertise, information technology and marketing services.Ìý

"We think we can turn it around, frankly, and we're open to turning it around because it's not just helping the college — that's good for them — but in our interest, it opens the door for so many of the people we serve and other people in the communities that we're focused on," said Malatras, who previously served as SUNY chancellor.Ìý

It's unlikely, though, the college will reverse its decision.Ìý

In the letter announcing the closure, Wells College President Jonathan Gibralter and Marie Chapman Carroll, who chairs the college's board of trustees, said the board "spent years trying to find creative solutions to raise revenues in hopes of avoiding closure." Those ideas included "conversations with other academic partners," they added.Ìý

But with revenues "not projected to be sufficient for Wells' long-term financial stability," the board voted to close the college.Ìý

Malatras acknowledges it may be too late to save Wells. The college has already notified its accreditor, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and the state Education Department. Closure plans are being submitted and the college will lay off its workforce.Ìý

"But we think it's worthy of seeing what could possibly be done to reverse that and we would be open to that," he said.Ìý