One College Closes Every Week Amid Enrollment Declines, Data Shows

The number of students in college has remained stable in recent years, with around 16 million students pursuing full and part-time studies, data from the National Center for Education Statistics show.

However, some colleges have reported declining enrollment from previous years, leading to struggles to operate, Erudera.com reports.

According to an analysis by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), a college or university closes its doors each week, on average. Typically, when a college or university closes, students are transferred to other schools.

The report “A Dream Derailed? Investigating the Impacts of College Closures on Student Outcomes,” by SHEEO, indicates that 70 percent of students were studying in an institution that suddenly closed between July 2004 and June 2020, meaning these students did not receive prior notice for the closure.

Most institutions that announced closures during these years were for-profit colleges. According to study findings, out of 467 closed institutions that were researched, nearly half, or 233 were from the private for-profit two-year sector.

Moreover, 131 were private for-profit four-year institutions, 83 were private nonprofit four-year institutions, 16 were private nonprofit two-year and four were public four-year institutions.

SHEEO found that many students who attended colleges that were unexpectedly closed do not continue their education again. Fewer than half of these students decide to transfer to another school. Of those who transfer to another institution, less than half graduate.

“The research from this report shows that when schools close, the impacts are potentially life-altering, with most students choosing not to reenroll right away and half as likely to earn a credential than students who did not experience a closure,” SHEEO President Rob Anderson said.

Figures show that:

• Students who experienced a university closure were 71.3 percent less likely to be enrolled in another institution after one month compared to those who did not experience a closure.
• 63.3 percent were less likely to be enrolled after four months.
• Students who attended institutions that closed were 50.1 percent less likely to earn a qualification than those who didn’t.
• Students who experienced a closure were 19.9 percent more likely to earn a shorter-term qualification than at the time of closure compared to those who did not experience closure.

This summer, Philadelphia’s University of the Arts announced its abrupt closure after 150 years citing a lack of enrollment and decreasing revenue.

© Changbok Ko | Unsplash

Read Also:

>> Report: Nearly 100 US Colleges Closed Over Two Academic Years