The company behind the student software program that has been criticized by staff and students at Maine’s community colleges because of persistent delays and technical issues has filed for bankruptcy.
Florida-based Anthology filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, claiming more than $1 billion in debt. The company recently had struggled with a decline in new bookings and higher-than-expected customer attrition, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
The Maine Community College System chose Anthology in 2022 to be its new student information platform following a competitive bidding process. The system was looking for a software program that had better data security, accommodated both traditional and short-term students, and could bring the data of all seven campuses into one system.
Staff, faculty and students have criticized the rollout, which they say has caused problems with financial aid, course registration, transcripts, housing and billing. They have expressed frustrations with the program through letters to the board of trustees, a vote of no confidence by the adjunct faculty union, and in interviews with the Press Herald.
Many also have said they don’t feel their concerns are being heard, and they worry that the product was too flawed to ever work. Those fears were amplified by reports of failed Anthology rollouts at other colleges, including some that led to lawsuits.
System leadership acknowledged last month that the rollout had taken longer and been more expensive than they hoped, but remained confident in the product.
President David Daigler said in a statement this week that the system was aware Anthology had sought Chapter 11 protection.
“In Chapter 11, existing clients and business operations continue, and Anthology said Tuesday that it will operate normally through this three- to six-month process,” Daigler said. “We will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep our community informed as we learn more details on what impact the Chapter 11 filing has on our business relationship with Anthology.”
Staff said they see the bankruptcy as a double-edged sword: the splitting up of Anthology’s assets could further complicate the rollout, and the bankruptcy hasn’t improved their faith in Anthology as a company. But new owners could mean a better product.
“There’s a worry that this makes things worse, as far as trying to make things work,” said Teresa Smith, the director of enrollment at Kennebec Valley Community College. “But there’s also hope: does this mean we’re going to maybe, actually get a product that will work better?”
Anthology Student, one of the programs utilized by Maine’s system, was immediately acquired by another company, Ellucian, through something called a stalking horse bid, which is a minimum offer by an established company designed to weed out unserious bids.
Ellucian, which was in the running to be chosen by Maine’s community college system in 2022, said in a statement Tuesday that it was looking forward to providing stability for existing customers.
Smith said many of the problems with Anthology have persisted during the start of the 2025-26 school year. Recently, she said financial aid checks were delayed because of the program, which caused stress for students and staff.
“It’s a time of uncertainty,” she said. “What I can tell you is that we’re all just continuing to do our job to take care of students.”
Daigler said in a September interview that the Anthology rollout had not gone exactly “as desired.”
But the system president said he has met frequently with senior leaders at Anthology, characterized the company as “a good business partner” and said he remains confident that the product will work, thanks in part to an independent review the system solicited in August, which said Anthology was a viable product.
