Concern over college closures continues to grow nationwide.
As many as 80 colleges could collapse in a single year amid enrollment declines tied to falling student populations and soaring operational costs. For families, the stakes can be enormous with disrupted degree programs, lost credits, and financial uncertainty.
Some colleges students have lost out after paying tuition for years only to lose their path to a degree when the school closed.
Known as the “Distressed Colleges Index”, Open School Ranking, a platform that ranks educational institutions, analyzed roughly 300 colleges to identify institutions showing signs of severe financial distress.
On their list, Open School Ranking says two Florida colleges are showing signs of significant financial distress: Florida Memorial University and Saint Leo University, and several others are distressed.
Dan Ye, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and creator of Open School Ranking, warns that some colleges could be at risk of closing within the next five years. His broader “distressed colleges” ranking identifies institutions that may face serious financial challenges over the next decade.
Ye said students and parents should carefully evaluate a college’s financial condition before committing to tuition payments or taking on student loan debt. He recommends reviewing several factors that may indicate whether an institution is financially stable or vulnerable to closure, merger or major restructuring.
His analysis also examines why college closures and mergers could accelerate sharply over the next 10 years. You can read his analysis HERE.
