Bubble update: More than 100 colleges have closed or merged over last eight years.
The University of Saint Katherine, a small nonprofit in North San Diego County, recently announced it will close May 18, citing “financial pressure due to unprecedented inflation and rising state-mandated labor costs.”
It’s not alone. Nationwide, universities face financial hardships that appear to be getting worse. More than 100 colleges and universities have closed or merged, or announced plans to, over the last eight years, according to a tracker updated this month by Higher Ed Dive.
The list, which does not include for-profit colleges and also omits mergers among public institutions, totals 108 since 2016.
The closures span the spectrum of public and private universities from California to Maine, showing the issue is not localized to any one region or sector.
“Our goal was not to create a death watch but rather to give our readers a tool to show the scope of that activity and any patterns within it,” noted the publication, which reports on higher education trends.
