Recent College Closures and Mergers in the US
At least 84 public or nonprofit colleges have closed, merged, or announced plans to do so since March 2020. More than 40 of those institutions have fully shut down or formally declared closure plans. The trend is not new, but its pace has increased: between 2008 and 2024, roughly 312 degree-granting colleges and universities closed nationwide (Castillo & Welding, 2025).
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia warns that the impact could worsen significantly. Under a worst-case scenario involving a sharp enrollment drop, as many as 80 colleges could close in a single year. Such a collapse could affect more than 100,000 students and 20,000 staff members. Even a more gradual decline could result in an average of 4.6 closures per year, disrupting the education of 7,300 students and the jobs of 1,200 staff annually (Kelchen, 2024).
The human cost of college closures is substantial. An estimated 50,580 students have been directly impacted by private nonprofit college closures since 2020 alone. Research shows that only 47% of students affected by a closure between 2004 and 2020 re-enrolled at another institution. The manner of closure matters. Students at institutions that shut down abruptly re-enrolled at a rate of just 40%, compared with 64% for those whose colleges closed in a more orderly fashion (Burns, 2022). Many students face lost or non-transferable credits, delayed or incomplete degrees, and higher risks of student loan default. Others experience disruptions to housing, financial aid, and even athletic eligibility under NCAA or NAIA rules.
A difficult year for higher education saw at least 16 nonprofit colleges and universities announce closure plans, underscoring the sector’s continued struggle with declining enrollment, rising operating costs, and growing financial uncertainty. The number matches last year’s total of 16 closure announcements and marks an increase from 2023, when 14 nonprofit institutions said they would shut down.
The colleges planning to close span both public and private sectors, though all seven public institutions were part of Pennsylvania State University’s Commonwealth Campus system. Pennsylvania was the only state with more than one college announcing closures in 2025.
Of the nine remaining institutions, five were religiously affiliated, continuing a broader trend in which faith-based, tuition-dependent colleges face outsized financial pressure. Enrollment at the affected institutions ranged from nearly 2,000 students at the high end to fewer than 100 at the low end. Most had experienced years of enrollment decline while operating costs continued to rise, creating deficits that leaders ultimately deemed unsustainable. (Moody, 2025)
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