At least 15 nonprofit institutions announced closures this year due to enrollment and financial challenges, down from 16 last year. There were also fewer mergers announced. That number is down from last year when Inside Higher Ed tracked 16 closure announcements but up from 2023 when 14 nonprofit colleges announced plans to shutter their operations. That count does not include colleges that closed this year but had previously announced plans to do so. Colleges planning to close are a mix of public and private institutions, though all seven of those in the public sector were part of Pennsylvania State University. Pennsylvania was the only state that had more than one college announce closure plans in 2025. Of the other eight colleges that announced closures, five were religiously affiliated. Enrollment at colleges that announced closures ran from a high of nearly 2,000 students to a low of less than 100. Most had seen enrollment tanking for years while operating costs continued to rise, creating untenable deficits.
