Benedictine University to shut its Springfield campus

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Benedictine University says the school will close its Springfield branch at the end of the 2018 spring semester and move students to other existing area sites.

Adult degree-completion and graduate students currently attend classes at the Springfield branch campus and at employer-based and community locations. University officials cited capital improvement needs as a factor in closing the branch.

University President Michael Brophy says in statement university officials had to ask themselves how best to provide for students. Brophy says the university will continue its programs at community sites apart from the Springfield campus, which will be sold.

The university ended its undergraduate programs in Springfield in 2014.

Benedictine is a Roman Catholic university headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Lisle. It also has a branch campus in Mesa, Arizona.