At least 16 colleges closed in 2025 and more could be coming this year. Higher education economists provided comments to The College Fix on what is driving these closures and what the future could look like.
The shutdowns followed 14 other closures in 2023 and 28 in 2024, according to data from Inside Higher Ed and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.
Over the past eight years, more than 100 colleges have closed or merged, The Fix previously reported. A Federal Reserve study published in 2024 predicted 80 colleges would close in the next five years – meaning an average of 16 per year.