FB-016 · 2027 pending
Public branch campuses · Pennsylvania
Penn State’s Seven Commonwealth Campuses — A Land-Grant System Amputates Its Own Limbs
Enrollment decline + system restructuring · Closed
2027
AB-016 · 2027 pending
Art & design college · California
California College of the Arts — A 120-Year Art School Donates Itself to Vanderbilt
enrollment decline + $20M deficit · Acquired
2026
FB-017 · 2026 pending
Experimental liberal-arts college · Massachusetts
Hampshire College — The College That Survived 2019 Could Not Outrun Its Bonds
Bond debt + enrollment decline · Closed
FB-018 · 2026
Environmental work college · Vermont
Sterling College — Vermont’s Smallest College Worked Itself to the End
Enrollment decline + finances · Closed
FB-019 · 2026
Predominantly Black institution · Indiana
Martin University — Indiana’s only Black-serving college, gone after 49 years
Insolvency · Closed
SG-016 · 2026 pending
Catholic nursing college · Massachusetts
Labouré College of Healthcare — A 134-Year Nursing School Folds Its Programs into a Neighbor
enrollment + finances · Closed
SG-017 · 2026
Catholic college · Massachusetts
Anna Maria College — Eighty Years in Paxton, Closed by an Audit’s “Substantial Doubt”
enrollment cliff + finances · Closed
SG-018 · 2026
Reformed Christian college · Illinois
Trinity Christian College — Sixty-Six Years on a Former Golf Course, Closed by the Math
enrollment cliff + deficits · Closed
SG-019 · 2026
Catholic university · Michigan
Siena Heights University — A Dominican College of 107 Years, Closed by the Arithmetic of Decline
enrollment decline + finances · Closed
SG-020 · 2026
Catholic university · Ohio
Lourdes University — A Franciscan University the Sisters Could No Longer Carry
lost denominational subsidy · Closed
SG-021 · 2026
Reformed Christian college · California
Providence Christian College — A College with a $25,000 Endowment, Undone When a Federal Grant Vanished
lost federal grant + no endowment · Closed
AB-017 · 2026
Public state college · Georgia
East Georgia State College — A Half-Century Access College Folded Into Georgia Southern
state-system consolidation · Merged
2025
FB-020 · 2025
Environmental liberal-arts college · Wisconsin
Northland College — An environmental college that borrowed its endowment to death
Insolvency + failed fundraise · Closed
FB-021 · 2025
Private university · South Carolina
Limestone University — 180 years gone in a week for want of $6 million
Insolvency + failed fundraise · Closed
SG-011 · 2025
Catholic university · Missouri
Fontbonne University — A Century of Catholic St. Louis, Closed by Financial Exigency
enrollment cliff · Closed
SG-022 · 2025
Native American–serving college · Oklahoma
Bacone College — Oklahoma’s oldest college, founded for Native students, liquidated by a bankruptcy trustee
insolvency + bankruptcy · Closed
SG-023 · 2025
Presbyterian college · North Carolina
St. Andrews University — Enrollment was rising; the parent ran out of money anyway
parent finances + abrupt closure · Closed
SG-024 · 2025
Nazarene college · Massachusetts
Eastern Nazarene College — A century in Quincy ended by the cliff, its campus sold to the city
finances + failed rescue · Closed
SG-025 · 2025
Christian college · New York, NY
The King’s College — A Christian College That Closed Twice, the Second Time for Good
insolvency + failed revival · Closed
BD-016 · 2025
For-profit conservatory · New York
New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts — A 45-Year Acting School the Numbers Finally Closed
enrollment + financial forecasts · Closed
BD-017 · 2025
For-profit art college · Connecticut
Paier College — A 79-Year Art School Undone by Mold, Debt, and a Lost Accreditation
lost accreditation · Closed
BD-018 · 2025
For-profit business college · New York
Jamestown Business College — A 139-Year Proprietary School Too Small to Carry the Rules
size + expanding regulation · Closed
AB-018 · 2025
Art & design college · Washington
Cornish College of the Arts — A 111-Year Seattle Art School Donates Itself to Survive
enrollment decline + debt · Merged
2024
FB-009 · 2024
Liberal-arts college · New York
Wells College — 156 Years on Cayuga Lake, Closed With a Month’s Notice
Enrollment cliff · Closed
FB-011 · 2024
Liberal-arts college · Alabama
Birmingham-Southern College — A 168-Year-Old College the State Refused to Float
Endowment depletion + failed state loan · Closed
FB-013 · 2024
Liberal-arts college · Vermont
Goddard College — The Progressive Pioneer That Ran Out of Students
Enrollment cliff · Closed
FB-014 · 2024
Arts university · Pennsylvania
The University of the Arts — A Century-Old Arts University That Gave a Week’s Notice
Finances + abrupt accreditation loss · Closed
FB-022 · 2024
Distance university · Ohio
Union Institute & University — A 60-Year Pioneer of Adult Learning That Stopped Paying Its Faculty
Insolvency + bankruptcy · Closed
FB-023 · 2024
Health-sciences university · Illinois
Oak Point University — A 110-Year Nursing School That Gave Its Students Three Weeks’ Notice
Enrollment + finances · Closed
FB-024 · 2024
Art & design college · Delaware
Delaware College of Art and Design — The First College the FAFSA Meltdown Helped Kill
Enrollment + finances · Closed
FB-025 · 2024
Career college · Florida
Hodges University — A career college that lost five-sixths of its students in a decade
Enrollment decline · Closed
FB-026 · 2024
Community college · Ohio
Eastern Gateway Community College — A free-college scheme that took the whole college down with it
Aid scheme + insolvency · Closed
FB-027 · 2024
Private college · New York
The College of Saint Rose — A century-old college that bought a neighborhood and lost itself
Enrollment + debt · Closed
SG-007 · 2024
Catholic college · Ohio
Notre Dame College — A Century-Old Catholic College Closed by Debt and a Failed Merger
enrollment + finances · Closed
SG-026 · 2024
Baptist university · Pennsylvania
Clarks Summit University — Ninety-Two Years a Baptist School, Closed in Thirty Days
enrollment cliff + finances · Closed
SG-027 · 2024
Catholic college · New Hampshire
Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts — New Hampshire’s Smallest College, Closed at Fifty-One
enrollment cliff + finances · Closed
SG-028 · 2024
Bible college · Illinois
Lincoln Christian University — Eighty Years of Preacher-Training, Closed Debt-Free and on Its Own Terms
enrollment cliff · Closed
SG-029 · 2024
Orthodox college · California
University of Saint Katherine — An Orthodox Sports College That Closed by 4 p.m. Email, Mid-Tournament
insolvency + abrupt closure · Closed
AB-005 · 2024
Catholic university · Pennsylvania
Cabrini University — The Saint’s College That Villanova Bought and Closed
acquisition (Villanova) · Acquired
AB-010 · 2024
Liberal-arts college · New York
Marymount Manhattan College — The Upper East Side Arts College That Became Northeastern’s 14th Campus
merger (Northeastern) · Merged
AB-019 · 2024
Adult-serving college · Massachusetts
Cambridge College — The Adult-Learner Pioneer That Sold Itself to Survive in 2024
enrollment decline + finances · Acquired
AB-020 · 2024
Hispanic-serving college · Illinois
St. Augustine College — The Midwest’s First Bilingual College, Merged Into Lewis in 2024
enrollment decline · Merged
AB-021 · 2024
Health-sciences university · Pennsylvania
Salus University — A Century-Old Optometry School That Merged Into Drexel in 2024
scale + strategic merger · Merged
AB-022 · 2024
Christian university · Oregon
Multnomah University — The Bible School That Gave Away Everything and Got Closed Anyway
enrollment + finances · Merged
2023
FB-010 · 2023
Liberal-arts college · New York
Cazenovia College — A Bond It Couldn’t Refinance Ended 199 Years
Debt + enrollment · Closed
FB-028 · 2023
Private college · New York
Medaille University — A 148-Year-Old College Undone by a Merger and a Tax Gamble
Enrollment + failed merger · Closed
SG-009 · 2023
Catholic university · Wisconsin
Cardinal Stritch University — America’s Largest Franciscan University, Emptied in a Decade
enrollment cliff · Closed
SG-010 · 2023
Methodist university · Iowa
Iowa Wesleyan University — A 181-Year-Old Methodist University the State Declined to Save
debt + finances · Closed
SG-012 · 2023
Catholic university · California
Holy Names University — 154 Years of Oakland’s First-Generation College, Closed by Debt and Decline
deficits + enrollment · Closed
SG-030 · 2023
Catholic college · South Dakota
Presentation College — A Prairie Nursing School the Sisters Could No Longer Carry
enrollment + finances · Closed
SG-031 · 2023
Christian university · New York
Alliance University — A 141-Year Mission to Immigrants, Foreclosed by an Office Loan
debt + lost accreditation · Closed
SG-032 · 2023
Lutheran university · Michigan
Finlandia University — America’s Only Finnish College, Closed Under an Unbearable Debt
debt + enrollment cliff · Closed
BD-003 · 2023
For-profit chain · USA
The Art Institutes — A Century-Old Art School Chain Bled Dry, Then Switched Off
fraud + mismanagement + collapse · Closed
AB-006 · 2023
Liberal-arts college · New Jersey
Bloomfield College — The Minority-Serving College a State Saved by Absorbing It
merger (Montclair State) · Merged
AB-014 · 2023
Public state system · Vermont
The Vermont State Colleges — Five Campuses, One Name, and a Library Revolt
state-system consolidation (budget + enrollment) · Merged
2022
FB-012 · 2022
Liberal-arts college · Illinois
Lincoln College — The First American College Killed in Part by Ransomware
COVID enrollment + ransomware · Closed
FB-029 · 2022
Art school · California
San Francisco Art Institute — The West’s Oldest Art School, Bankrupt After 151 Years
Debt + insolvency · Closed
SG-013 · 2022
Catholic university · California
Marymount California University — A Failed Merger, Then a Closure on the Doorstep of Fall
finances + enrollment · Closed
BD-019 · 2022
For-profit university · Virginia
Stratford University — A For-Profit That Outlived Its Accreditor by Three Weeks
accreditor decertified · Closed
AB-001 · 2022
Women's college · California
Mills College — The Women’s College That Saved Itself in 1990 and Was Absorbed in 2022
merger (Northeastern) · Merged
AB-008 · 2022
Health-sciences university · Pennsylvania
University of the Sciences — The Nation’s First Pharmacy College, Absorbed Into Its Jesuit Neighbor
merger (Saint Joseph's) · Merged
AB-012 · 2022
Public university system · Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s PASSHE Universities — Six Historic Teacher Colleges Folded Into Two
state-system consolidation (enrollment + budget) · Merged
2021
FB-030 · 2021
Private college · Massachusetts
Becker College — A Game-Design Pioneer the Pandemic Pushed Over the Edge
Finances + COVID · Closed
SG-033 · 2021
Christian university · West Virginia
Ohio Valley University — A Church College That Could Not Make Payroll
insolvency + enrollment · Closed
SG-034 · 2021
Baptist women's college · Alabama
Judson College — One of America’s Oldest Women’s Colleges, Closed at 183
enrollment cliff + mounting debt · Closed
BD-020 · 2021
Online university · Utah
Independence University — A “Nonprofit” That Sold Fictional Salaries, Then Vanished Overnight
misrepresentation + aid cutoff · Closed
AB-007 · 2021
Lutheran college · New York
Concordia College — The Lutheran College a Catholic Neighbor Bought and Closed
acquisition (Iona) · Acquired
AB-009 · 2021
Liberal-arts college · Delaware
Wesley College — The Private College an HBCU Bought to Save
merger (Delaware State) · Merged
AB-011 · 2021
Private university · Connecticut
University of Bridgeport — A Saved University That Was Finally Carved Up and Absorbed
decline → programs split/absorbed · Absorbed
2020
FB-008 · 2020
Liberal-arts college · Illinois
MacMurray College — A 174-Year-Old Women’s College That Ran the Deficit to Zero
Deficits + enrollment · Closed
FB-031 · 2020
Art college · Tennessee
Memphis College of Art — An 84-Year-Old Art School That Chose a Slow, Honest Death
Enrollment + real-estate debt · Closed
SG-001 · 2020
Lutheran university · Oregon
Concordia University Portland — The Largest Lutheran University in America, Gone in a Single Vote
finances + abrupt closure · Closed
SG-008 · 2020
Catholic college · Wisconsin
Holy Family College — A 135-Year-Old Franciscan College the Pandemic Pushed Over the Edge
enrollment cliff (COVID-accelerated) · Closed
SG-014 · 2020
Swedenborgian college · Ohio
Urbana University — Johnny Appleseed’s New Church College, Closed by a Branch Office Decision
enrollment decline · Closed
SG-035 · 2020
Bible college · Nebraska
Nebraska Christian College — A Bible College That Merged to Survive, Then Closed Anyway
enrollment collapse · Closed
AB-002 · 2020
Liberal-arts college · Vermont
Marlboro College — The Self-Governing College That Gave Itself Away in 2020
merger (Emerson) · Merged
AB-004 · 2020
Liberal-arts college · Massachusetts
Pine Manor College — The Finishing School Turned Lifeline, Acquired in 2020
acquisition (Boston College) · Acquired
AB-023 · 2020
Career-focused university · Illinois
Robert Morris University Illinois — The Career College That Walked 256 Steps Into Its Rival
enrollment decline · Merged
AB-024 · 2020
Art & design college · Tennessee
Watkins College of Art — A Free-Lecture Trust From 1885, Folded Into Belmont in 2020
enrollment + finances · Merged