Why colleges are going out of business |
The context you need, when you need it
When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.
We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?
Why colleges are going out of business
Debt and an enrollment crisis sunk Hampshire College. Is it a canary in the coal mine for higher ed?
Higher education is in crisis. Last week, Hampshire College — a private liberal arts school in Amherst, Massachusetts — announced it will shut down after the fall 2026 semester.
Founded in 1965 to “reimagine liberal arts education,” Hampshire counts documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and actors Lupita Nyong’o and Liev Schreiber among its most notable alumni.
But Hampshire is just the latest casualty in a broader trend. There are roughly 4,000 colleges in the United States. According to Jon Marcus, senior higher education reporter at the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit publication covering education, around 100 have closed since the Covid-19 pandemic, and many more are at risk over the next decade.
For now, large public universities and well-endowed private schools like Harvard and Yale remain relatively stable. But smaller regional colleges are increasingly at risk. That shift could leave students with fewer options for higher education, and,, for some, close the door on higher education entirely.
To understand why colleges are closing and what it means for the future of higher education in the United States, Today, Explained co-host Sean Rameswaram spoke with Marcus, who explained the story of Hampshire College and some of the financial, demographic, and cultural elements afflicting colleges.
Below is an excerpt of the conversation, edited for length and clarity. There’s much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
Last week it was announced that the private liberal arts college Hampshire College would close after its fall semester. Tell us the story of what happened to Hampshire.
Like a lot of small colleges, Hampshire had a lot of problems hidden just below the surface. In Hampshire’s case, they weren’t that well-hidden. It had been having problems for more than six years, since before the pandemic, but was being kept afloat by its very loyal alumni, who include some people that have been extremely successful, largely in the arts.
Its endowment was very small. Its enrollment continued to decline. It had fewer than 800 students left at the end. It had $21 million in debt.
Debt is a really important and largely........