The community made the decision to close Sacred Heart Academy.
By 1967, Sacred Heart Academy was facing increasing challenges – a changing social environment in the surrounding community, lack of space for boarding students, and the logistical challenges of sharing a campus and some staff with the College. The community made the decision to close the Academy while it was still strong rather than wait for likely decline.
The College was beginning to have its own challenges, primary among them decreasing enrollment following the opening of a two-year community college in nearby Hanceville.. This state-sponsored school with its low tuition drew many local students away from private schools in the area. In response to this challenge, the College would become coed as Cullman College for several years, then merge with St. Bernard College as Southern Benedictine College for two years. The merged college would close in 1979.