Catherwood LibraryILR School

The National Labor College is set to close in 2014 because of financial difficulties. The college has long been supported by the AFL-CIO as a place where adults could obtain degrees that would lead to better work, sometimes utilizing the government-assisted education funding stream: Program 599. The institution has been around for a little over 17 years, but since the renovation of the main campus in 2003, it has been burdened by debt and has had a harder time generating revenue. Many see the college as representing a dying way of American life. The National Labor College has about 58 faculty and staff and an operating budget of $12 million annually, but has maintained low tuition costs of under $300 per credit hour for union members and their families.