A new estimate projects that nearly 450 of the nation’s 1,700 private, nonprofit four-year colleges and universities are at risk of closing or having to merge within the next decade.

After years of rapid financial decline, Hampshire College, a private liberal arts college in Massachusetts, has announced it will close its doors at the end of the year.

But the college is hardly alone. A new estimate projects that nearly 450 of the nation’s 1,700 private,… pic.twitter.com/Eco1hclX2Y

— PBS News (@NewsHour) April 16, 2026