The college, founded in 1852 and located about 15 miles east of Dayton, is the flagship for Antioch University, which has five other campuses in Ohio and on the East and West coasts.
Antioch, which costs $36,000 a year to attend, has an $18 million operating budget and a $2.6 million deficit. Enrollment is down to 230 students.
The alma mater of Coretta Scott King, "Twilight Zone" creator Rod Serling and two Nobel Prize winners, Antioch College doesn't grade classes, encourages students to develop their own study plans and combines academic learning with experience through a co-op program in which students leave campus to work in various fields.
The trustees and alumni released a 7-page resolution and "agreement in principle" outlining the conditions of keeping the school open.
Antioch students were disappointed with the document, said second-year student Jeanne Kay, who gathered with students, faculty, staff and alumni on campus Saturday afternoon.
"When the announcement was first read there was a lot of joy in the room, but after we read the agreement there were a lot of questions," she said. "The college isn't sending a clear message that it won't decide to close again next year or next month, even."
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