A flurry of colleges and universities have shut their doors following the pandemic, and 2024 didn’t show signs of slowing down. Chances are closings will continue to uptick as higher education braces for the expected demographic cliff.
University Business will continue to monitor the changing landscape of college closings, as well as mergers and acquisitions, in the coming year and beyond. To begin, we will backtrack and organize all of the college closings of 2024, paying particular attention to two- and four-year, public and private nonprofit institutions.
Small private regional institutions dependent on tuition revenue are the most likely candidates to end up on this list. The most common explanation is as follows:
- Regional demographic changes brewing before the pandemic begins to dwindle the pool of traditional-aged college students available in a given region. Lower enrollment breeds lower tuition revenue.
- The pandemic occurs, steepening downward trending enrollment and shortening administrators’ window to adjust operational strategy. Heightening inflation exacerbates financial issues.
- The institution attempts to mitigate its growing budget deficit through a combination of solutions: selling assets, requesting loans, cutting staff and/or academic programs.
- Those that continue to face financial exigency may escape a closure through a merger or acquisition.
- If not, the institution shuts its doors. Centuries of serving higher education erased.
Institutions interested in diversifying their enrollment strategy in an attempt to adapt to the demographic cliff should heed advice from Unity Environmental University.
The college closings and mergers of 2024
Cornish College of the Arts (Washington)
Seattle University, a private Jesuit university serving over 7,000 students, announced it acquired Cornish College of the Arts on Dec. 5. It will slowly absorb its administrative support operations over the next year, pending review by their shared accreditation body and the Department of Education.
The small art college will be renamed Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University, and it will retain its current campus.
California State University Maritime Academy
The California State University Board of Trustees voted on Nov. 21 to merge California State University Maritime Academy with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo—despite being spread apart by 250 miles. The two CSU System campuses will be fully integrated by fall 2026, and Maritime Academy will be renamed Cal Poly, Solano Campus.
The only public university on this list, enrollment at Maritime Academy has fallen by 31% since the 2016-17 academic year, Cal Matters reports. The system will downsize to 22 universities.
Ursuline College (Ohio)
Ursuline College in September signed a letter of intent to merge with the larger, Pennsylvania-based Gannon University. The two institutions are currently in a due diligence phase; if completed, Gannon will become the largest Catholic university system in the region with campuses across three states (including Florida) boasting 6,000 students.
Pierce College (Penn.)
Pierce College signed an agreement on Aug. 14 to merge with Lackawanna College, a move that could potentially make the latter “the largest private, nonprofit, open enrollment institution” in Pennsylvania. Under the merger’s conditions, Pierce College would become a school under Lackawanna that could amplify a broader array of academic offerings for adult learners in the Philadelphia region.
Mount Mercy University (Iowa)
St. Ambrose University has agreed to acquire Mount Mercy University through a strategic agreement signed Aug. 1. Renamed Mount Mercy Campus of St. Ambrose University, it will retain a separate campus and academic programs. The first stages of approval will begin summer of 2025.
Clarks Summit University (Penn.)
Clarks Summit University announced its closure leading up to the fall semester on July 1 after “hav[ing] exhausted every viable solution to bridge a significant financial gap.”
Year founded: 1932
Eastern Nazarene College (Mass.)
Eastern Nazarene College announced on June 25 that it would not be accepting an incoming class for the fall semester and plans to continue serving students on track to graduate by the end of the year. The state’s education department estimates it will close by the end of the academic year.
Year founded: 1900
Union Institute & University (Ohio)
Union Institute & University announced it would close just nine days before its intended date on June 30. The online university blamed other institutions’ adoption of online learning modalities at the onset of the pandemic for stripping away its enrollment base.
However, Union seems to have been struggling before the pandemic, WCPO reports. Full-time student enrollment dropped 69% between 2017 and 2021. In 2023, it failed to pay employees on time and was evicted from its Walnut Hills Campus.
Union was the only Hispanic-serving institution in Ohio.
Year founded: 1964
Correction: An earlier iteration stated that Union Institute & University closed due to “pandemic-related challenges.”
Pittsburgh Technical College
Pittsburgh Technical College told its community on June 10 that it would cease academic instruction due to declining enrollment, market pressures and inflation.
Year founded: 1946
University of the Arts (Penn.)
The University of the Arts Board of Directors voted on June 1 to close the institution. Faculty filed a class-action lawsuit against the university for only providing the community a seven-day notice.
Year founded: 1976
Marymount Manhattan College (N.Y.)
Marymount Manhattan College announced on May 29 its intentions to merge with Northeastern University and change its name to Northeastern University – New York. While the acquisition’s timeline is subject to federal approvals, Northeastern plans to continue operating Marymount’s performing arts and prison education programs. The remaining academic curriculum will be assimilated, and Marymount students will be automatically enrolled at Northeastern.
“Recognizing the significant headwinds facing small liberal arts colleges, MMC’s Board decided to pursue this path to ensure the continuation of MMC’s student-centered approach to education for generations to come,” said Abby Fiorella, chair of Marymount’s Board of Trustees.
Delaware College of Art and Design
Delaware College of Art and Design announced on May 23 that it would not be offering classes for the upcoming fall semester. Aside the usual culprits ailing small private universities, administrative leaders also cited issues with last year’s FAFSA rollout, NBC Philadelphia reports.
Year founded: 1997
Wells College (N.Y.)
Wells College announced its decision to close after the spring semester on April 29, citing enrollment and budgetary challenges. The late notice left newly admitted students scrambling to recover their deposits, according to The Hechinger Report, which found that the college was aware of its budgetary challenges for at least a year.
Year founded: 1868
University of Saint Katherine (Calif.)
The University of Saint Katherine announced that it would be closing on April 25. The day President Frank Papatheofanis announced the college closing was also when Saint Katherine ceased employment and operations. It caught students by such surprise that its beach volleyball team was on its way to the NAIA state championships.
Asked why the university gave such short notice of its impending closure, Papatheofanis cited athletics’ inflated budget and a growing inability to pay faculty, NBC San Diego reports. Employees sued the university at least five times in the past four years due to breach of contract/employment.
Year founded: 2011
Goddard College (Vt.)
Goddard College announced its closing on April 9 due to “inflationary pressures, demographic shifts and changing educational preferences,” according to a statement.
Founded: 1938
Oak Point University (Ill.)
March 29 – Oak Point University announced it would cease operations, which left students and faculty blindsided by the sudden closure. While students were informed that Lewis University would accept transfers, faculty were left uncertain about their future, with no severance pay offered.
Year founded: 1914
Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.)
After failing to secure an emergency $40 million loan from the state, Birmingham-Southern College announced on March 26 that it would close at the end of the spring semester.
Year founded: 1856
Bluffton University (Ohio)
March 18 – Bluffton University has reverted back to a college following its merger with University of Findlay. The two Ohio-based, Christian institutions said they found mutual advantage in combining forces ahead of a changing demographic landscape, 13 Action News reports.
Fontbonne University (Mo.)
Fontbonne University announced on March 11 that it would close at the end of the summer term in 2025. “After many years of declining enrollments and a shrinking endowment, the financial position of the university is no longer able to be sustained for the long term,” Nancy Blattner, the president of Fontbonne University, said in a video announcement to the community.
Year founded:1923
Notre Dame College (Ohio)
Facing $10 million in debt, the resignation of the college president and a failed attempt to merge with nearby Cleveland State University, Notre Dame College announced on Feb. 29 that it would close at the end of the spring semester.
Nine schools guaranteed admissions for the college’s remaining students with more than 60 credits completed.
Year founded: 1922
Cambridge College (Mass.)
Bay Path University acquired Cambridge College on Feb. 27 due to pandemic-related challenges, NEPM reports.
Year founded: 1971
