Abbey Ballentine, a student from Ohio’s Cleveland area, chose Notre Dame College for its small and friendly campus, competitive Division II soccer team, and proximity to home. However, just a few months into her freshman year in late fall of 2023, rumors began circulating about the school’s financial problems. The official closure announcement came early in the spring semester, and the college shut down in May.
Fortunately for students like Ballentine, campus advisors and administrators quickly helped them find alternative schools within a reasonable distance that would honor their financial aid packages and accept their academic credits. Ballentine ultimately decided to transfer to Thiel College in western Pennsylvania.
While she is still adjusting to her new environment at Thiel College—where the soccer team competes at Division III level—and being further away from home, Ballentine sees it as a good match for her. The move also prompted her to switch majors from nursing to exercise science.
According to Rachel Burns of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), the support provided to Notre Dame College students during this transition was rare. In fact, Burns stated that 70 percent of private college students affected by abrupt closures over the past five years received no assistance in finding another institution.
The closure trend is not limited to Notre Dame College alone. In fact, 99 degree-granting institutions closed within the past year across various types of colleges and universities nationwide. Small private residential liberal arts colleges have been particularly impacted by declining enrollments.
Gary Stocker of data analytics company College Viability predicts that more schools will announce closures soon after accounting for federal financial aid checks this academic year. He estimates that there are currently over 2 million unfilled student slots across U.S. colleges and universities.
Various factors contribute to these closures: rising tuition costs outpacing financial aid amounts; reluctance among young people to take on high-interest private loans; decreased birthrates leading to fewer high school graduates attending college; job market trends; recent Supreme Court decisions affecting affirmative action policies; delayed release of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); increased overtime wages required by employers starting January 2025; and declining minority enrollment due to Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action policies.
Emily Wadhwani from Fitch Ratings credit rating agency emphasizes that many schools facing closure have been financially struggling for years but were temporarily sustained by federal emergency aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To avoid being caught off guard by sudden closures or financial instability when choosing a college or university, Gary Stocker advises prospective students and families do thorough research on acceptance rates, graduation rates over multiple years, annual financial reports staffing levels number of majors offered as well as endowment funds which indicate an institution’s long-term stability.
