- At least eight US nonprofit colleges have announced they will cease operations in 2026.
- Six notable mergers or acquisitions are still in active transition, and the trend is seen accelerating.
- Huron Consulting estimates that nearly one-quarter of the nation’s approximately 1,700 private nonprofit four-year institutions could close or merge within the next decade.
Anna Maria College announcement of closure Last week the number of 2026 U.S. nonprofit college closures increased to eight. The 80-year-old institution in Paxton, Massachusetts said its board of trustees can no longer estimate the financial resources to maintain academic operations beyond the spring 2026 semester. The decision came less than two weeks after the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education formally flagged the college as being at risk of closing.
Anna Maria’s announcement came on the same day that Hampshire College activists announced their permanent closure On April 14) launched a relief fund ahead of June layoffs. The two Massachusetts institutions together highlight the growing pressure on small, tuition-dependent liberal arts colleges in the Northeast.
Since the summer of 2025, a steady stream of small-college closings and high-profile mergers have reshaped parts of American higher education.
A parallel trend has emerged: a large number of schools are opting for mergers or acquisitions rather than closing.
What follows is an ongoing tracker of both, based on institutional press releases and verified reporting, through April 24, 2026.
2026 college closure list
Eight institutions have either ceased operations in 2026 or announced they will do so before the end of the year. Three Massachusetts colleges (Labour, Hampshire, and Anna Maria) are among them, and four of the eight announced in a window between early February 2026:
- Sienna Heights University (Adrian, MI) – Announced June 30, 2025; Concluding at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
- Trinity Christian College (Palos Heights, IL) – Announced November 4, 2025; Final start May 8, 2026.
- Sterling College (Craftsbury Common, VT) – Announced November 13, 2025; Final start May 16, 2026.
- Providence Christian College (Pasadena, CA) – Announced February 7, 2026; Concluding at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
- Lourdes University (Sylvania, OH) – Announced February 11, 2026; Concluding at the end of the Spring 2026 semester.
- Laboure College of Healthcare (Milton, MA) – Announced February 2026; Ceasing operations on August 31, 2026.
- Hampshire College (Amherst, MA) – Announced April 14, 2026; Completion in late autumn 2026.
- Anna Maria College (Paxton, MA) – Announced April 23, 2026; Ceasing academic operations in late spring 2026, with full closure by the end of the year.
Sixteen non-profit colleges closed in 2025. Since March 2020, approximately 48 public or private nonprofit institutions have closed or announced planned closures, affecting an estimated 52,600 students, according to tracking by Higher Ed Dive and BestCollege.
The 2026 list shares several common threads. A 30% to 70% decline in enrollment over the past decade is visible in almost every case. Each of the closing schools relied heavily on net tuition revenue, and many lost federal grant funding in fiscal year 2026.
Providence Christian cited the expiration of its Hispanic-Serving Institution grant (about $600,000 annually), saying that its $25,322 endowment could not absorb it. Lourdes University reported that the Sisters of St. Francis could no longer subsidize operations at the level necessary to keep the 68-year-old institution afloat.
Labour, a nursing-focused institution in Milton, will move programs to nearby Curry College. Anna Maria’s FY2025 audit included a “going concern” qualification from its auditors, which triggered new federal financial aid restrictions, a warning sign just weeks before its closure decision.
Mergers are also increasing
Along with complete closures, a wave of mergers and acquisitions has also gained momentum. Mergers receive less public attention because they often preserve the name or mission of a campus under the umbrella of a larger institution, but the financial logic behind them is often the same.
Six mergers are currently in process:
- Ursuline College (OH) → Gannon University (PA) – Letter of Intent September 16, 2024; Definite agreement January 2, 2025. The change of control became effective on June 30, 2025, with the full merger targeted for December 15, 2026.
- New Jersey City University → Kean University (NJ) — Definitive agreement October 1, 2025; Governor Phil Murphy signed enabling legislation on January 13, 2026. The full merger will take effect July 1, 2026, with $25 million in state transition funds. The Jersey City campus will serve as “Keen Jersey City”.
- Rosemont College (PA) → Villanova University (PA) – Announced on March 31, 2025. Rosemont will continue to offer its own degrees until 2028 before the campus becomes “Villanova University, Rosemont Campus”.
- Cornish College of the Arts (WA) → Seattle University (WA) — Definitive settlement March 14, 2025; The transaction closes on May 31, 2025.
- Queens University of Charlotte (NC) → Elon University (NC) – Declaration of intent September 16, 2025; Definitive agreement December 18, 2025. SACSCOC approval is expected in June 2026.
- East Georgia State College → Georgia Southern University (GA) – Final approval by the Board of Regents December 2025; Consolidation effective from January 1, 2026.
What this means for students and families
The announcement of a closure or merger should ring alarm bells for currently enrolled or prospective students. Federal rules preserve a closed school leave option for federal student loans if borrowers cannot transfer and complete a comparable program elsewhere, but the window is small. The U.S. Department of Education generally requires withdrawals within 120 days of the official closing date to qualify. Students who accept teach-out transfer have their leave cancelled.
Most of the 2026 schools closing have created teach-out partners to help students complete their degrees. Providence Christian is working with Biola, Concordia and The Master University. Lourdes has a partnership with the University of Toledo, which is committed to admitting Lourdes students in good standing into aligned programs. Labour’s nursing program will transition to Curry College. Trinity Christian has tuition-agreements with St. Xavier, Calvin, and Olivet Nazarene universities.
Credit transfer is generally honored, but families should confirm program-level articulation, as specialized credits in nursing, education or the arts do not always correspond to the degree requirements of the receiving institution.
Financial aid also gets reset. A teach-out student’s federal aid package is recalculated based on his or her cost of attendance at the new institution and state aid portability. Families in states with significant tuition grant programs (Pennsylvania’s PHEAA, New Jersey’s TAG, California’s Cal Grant) should verify eligibility before committing to transfer.
For prospective students, the pattern is a reminder that financial health should be part of your due diligence checklist before committing.
Useful indicators were published through Education Department’s College Scorecard This includes full-time equivalent enrollment trends, graduation rates, transfers and more. Under the federal fiscal responsibility framework, schools with a decline of more than 25% in enrollment over five years, a tuition discount rate above 55%, or a CFI below 1.0 face an increased risk of closure.
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