Jon Marcus
August 3, 2026
Falling enrollment, rising debt have put an estimated 1 in 4 institutions at risk.
Pssst — wanna buy a college campus?
There’s a sudden market in abandoned campuses, an outgrowth of the accelerating rate of colleges closing in the face of falling enrollment, rising debt and other problems.
More than 440 of the nation’s private, nonprofit four-year colleges and universities are now at risk, based on enrollment trends, debt and other measures, according to projections by Huron Consulting Group. That’s a quarter of the total.
Among the most endangered: small, rural and religiously affiliated institutions.
And how to dispose of the real estate is among the least of the challenges facing shuttering campuses and the students they serve.