Notre Dame de Namur University‘s interim president said a decision announced last Monday not to admit new students is buying time for university leaders to find a way to keep the university open.

Faculty members are less hopeful. One faculty leader described the decision as a temporary stay of execution.

The unsettled situation demonstrates why it’s so difficult to close a college or university. Faculty and staff members resist the idea of giving up on their employer’s future — and their own jobs — too early. Leaders who want to do right by current students and staff are left with few paths forward and are very often criticized for giving up on the colleges they lead.