Tracking College Closures and Mergers – 2025
February 18, 2025
Perhaps reflective of volatile times, many higher education institutions have shuttered their doors or been subsumed by other, larger institutions. This has left students, alumni, and educators, among others, shocked. How could a college, a place of learning, close like a business? In fact, just like a business, many college closures and colleges merging were due to lack of funds, especially during COVID. Others ended enrollment after losing accreditation. College closures and colleges merging only seem to be increasing, and below is a list of the most recent occurrences.
College Closures
1) Alliance University
When: August 31, 2023
Why: This New York City-based Christian school lost its accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. As a result, the Alliance University Board of Trustees voted to halt educational offerings for New York and online locations.
2) Birmingham-Southern College
When: May 31, 2024
Why: This private 168-year-old institution in Alabama closed after numerous financial losses.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
3) Clarks Summit University
When: Fall 2024
Why: A Christian-affiliated school founded during the Great Depression, Clarks Summit closed due to financial challenges.
4) Delaware College of Art and Design
When: Fall 2024
Why: DCAD president mentions “declining enrollment, a shrinking pool of college-age students, rising costs, and unexpected issues with the roll-out of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid.” The school has agreements with Pennsylvania College of Art and Design and Moore College of Art and Design, who will accept current and incoming DCAD students.
5) Eastern Gateway Community College
When: July 28, 2024
Why: According to the U.S. Department of Education, the college “violated federal financial aid rules by subsidizing students who were ineligible for Pell Grants.” The school’s website offers few details except the closure date, the ability to procure your transcript, and a hotline for learning how to transfer.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
6) Eastern Nazarene College
When: Spring 2024
Why: This small private college in Quincy, Massachusetts opened in 1900. Like many schools, they faced financial losses. Recently, the campus was purchased by a real estate company.
7) Finlandia University
When: Spring 2022
Why: According to one report: “Founded in 1896, Finlandia was a small private Lutheran university, the only private university in the Upper Peninsula. The university’s board voted unanimously to dissolve the institution in March, citing demographic changes, a dwindling endowment and an unbearable debt load.” Students were encouraged to transfer to nearby Lakeland University, where they were guaranteed admission.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
8) Fontbonne University
When: Summer 2025
Why: The board of trustees voted to cease operations after declining enrollment, particularly impacted by COVID. This Catholic university was founded in 1923 as a women’s college before becoming all-gender.
9) Goddard College
When: Spring 2024
Why: According to the press release, “Facing financial insolvency, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to close at the end of the current semester, citing a significant and persistent decline in enrollment since the 1970s as the determining factor that made the decision unavoidable.” Of all college closures, this one particularly stuns the writing community. Goddard had a reputable MFA program.
10) Iowa Wesleyan University
When: Spring 2023
Why: The school’s website is officially shut down, but apparently the board of trustees felt unable to continue operations because Governor Reynolds declined the school’s request for additional, significant funding. The Governor defended the state’s decision, stating the school’s financial challenges derived from systemic issues that no cash infusion could mitigate.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
11) Notre Dame College
When: May 2, 2024
Why: Founded in 1922, this private Roman Catholic college in Ohio also faced insurmountable debt, exacerbated by COVID-19.
12) Oak Point University
When: April 19, 2024
Why: The closure of this nursing school in the Chicago area was sudden: the president emailed in March to announce a closing date in April. Even more baffling, the university never disclosed a specific reason for closure. Perhaps accreditation or legal difficulties plagued this institution as well.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
13) Oregon College of Oriental Medicine
When: August 29, 2024
Why: This acupuncture-focused college cited rising costs. Students and faculty suspect financial mismanagement and predatory student loan practices led to declining enrollment and financial insolvency.
14) Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
When: Spring 2025
Why: PAFA earned accreditation in 2013, and only in January announced their closure at the end of this semester. The school stated a desire to “return to its roots, recommitting itself to expanding the stories of American art through its collections and exhibitions and providing arts education for the full lifecycle of the artist” while ending their degree-awarding programs.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
15) Pittsburgh Technical College
When: August 2024
Why: In March 2024, Middle States Commission for Higher Education placed the college on probation because of the college’s struggle to comply with various regulations. In June, the school announced an August closure date. Many faculty and staff believed they would receive pay until the closure date and did not. The board released a statement that declining enrollment and rising costs led to the closure, but the sudden nature of it might reflect other fiscal management issues.
16) Union Institute & University
When: June 30, 2024
Why: The 60-year-old college never fully recovered from the impacts of the pandemic.
17) University of the Arts
When: June 7, 2024
Why: This announcement may have been the most abrupt of any school closure. On May 31, the board and president announced the school would close in seven days. This led to “several class action lawsuits that have been brought against the university, allegations of unfair labor practices and an ongoing investigation by Pennsylvania’s attorney general.” The school cited financial difficulties and eventually filed for bankruptcy.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
18) University of Saint Katherine
When: May 2024
Why: This private Christian school outside of San Diego closed because of financial losses as well. Some of its financial dues may have been connected to lawsuits. Between 2020 and 2024, employees sued “at least five times for breach of contract/employment.”
19) Wells College
When: Spring 2024
Why: This private liberal arts college in upstate New York is now for sale. The board said financial challenges were “exacerbated by a global pandemic, a shrinking pool of undergraduate students nationwide, inflationary pressures, and an overall negative sentiment towards higher education.”
With this slew of college closures in the past few years, institutions will need to examine new strategies or education models to keep costs down and enrollment high. Specialized schools may also consider how accreditation challenges will impact their sustainability.
College Mergers
Many schools opted to merge with another college to ensure the continuation of their operations. These colleges merging mostly offered current students a clear path towards finishing their program and earning their degree.
20) Bay Path University and Cambridge College
When: July 2024
These schools began discussing a merger in summer 2023. Cambridge College has long served people of Hispanic descent, adding to the demographic and population of Bay Path’s two existing campuses.
21) California Polytechnic State University and California State University Maritime Academy
When: Fall 2026
Both public universities, the small maritime school struggled with enrollment. Joining Cal Poly secured its future. Cal Maritime was California’s smallest public university while Cal Poly is one of the state’s most competitive and stable schools.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
22) Iona College and Concordia College
When: Fall 2021
When Iona acquired Concordia, the school transitioned from a college to a university. Iona also formed relationships with New York Presbyterian hospital to establish a new health sciences school
23) Delaware State University and Wesley College, a private liberal arts school in Delaware.
When: Spring 2021
Delaware State was the first HBCU to acquire another college. Wesley College became the site for Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences at DSU.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
24) Emerson College and Marlboro College
When: Fall 2020
The acquisition of Marlboro led to Emerson’s new Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies.
25) Keystone College and Washington Institute for Education and Research
When: Spring 2024
Keystone struggled to maintain its accreditation and eventually agreed to merge with the nonprofit, becoming one of its subsidiaries.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
26) Lackawanna College and Peirce College
When: 2025
School leadership from both Pennsylvania schools stated: “Our decision to merge is based on our shared foundational belief that like-minded institutions with similar missions are better and stronger together.”
27) Montclair State University and Bloomfield College
When: Summer 2023
When Bloomfield announced financial challenges, Montclair State suggested the colleges merging. According to a local publication, “Bloomfield College is the only four-year college in New Jersey recognized as a Predominantly Black Institution (PBI), Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), and Minority Serving Institution (MSI). More than half of its students identify themselves as first-generation and are the first in their families to enroll in college.” Montclair is “New Jersey’s largest Hispanic Serving Institution, serving more Latinx students than any other university in the state.”
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
28) Northeastern University and Marymount Manhattan College
When: Fall 2024
The large business and engineering-focused university in Boston announced its acquisition of Marymount, a small private liberal arts school in New York City with decreasing enrollment. This move follows Northeastern’s acquisition of Mills College and results in the University’s 14th campus.
29) Northeastern University and Mills College
When: Summer 2022
Northeastern acquired the small women’s college in California that also faced lower enrollment. Mills students were frustrated by the announcement and filed a lawsuit, with “plaintiffs alleging that false promises were made during the merger that impacted the cost, quality and timeliness of students’ education.”
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
30) Seattle University and Cornish College of the Arts
When: Spring 2025
Cornish saw declining enrollment and was acquired by the Jesuit school, Seattle University. Cornish will become Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University
Colleges Closures and College Mergers (Continued)
31) St. Ambrose University and Mount Mercy University
When: Completed by 2026
These Catholic universities in Iowa will be combined under the St. Ambrose name. One story notes that colleges merging in the Midwest are likely to increase, as this region of the country has seen significantly low enrollment.
32) University of Findlay/Bluffton University
When: Fall 2024
Based in Ohio, these Christian schools merged so that “students and employees would benefit from access to expanded resources on both campuses located 20 miles apart in Northwest Ohio,” according to the college’s presidents.
Colleges Closures and College Mergers
The plethora of college closures and colleges merging reveal the long-term impacts of COVID-19 along with the escalating challenges of managing an institution. With increasing costs and the struggle to acquire accreditation and receive government funding, colleges look towards business models as a mode of operation. Hopefully, colleges can receive more guidance on planning and management in order to support the students. These spaces foster critical thinking and growth in individuals and in communities. Examining their goals and models is foundational for idea development and information exchange.
For related information on college closures and colleges merging, see how colleges make money, understanding recent trends in college pricing.
Additional Resources
