Izzy Johnson, left, and Jack Beatson are first-year students at Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, Vt. The college has announced that it will close at the end of this semester. Oliver Parini for The Hechinger Report Oliver Parini for The Hechinger Report CRAFTSBURY COMMON, Vt. — More than a dozen newborn lambs cavorted around a fenced-in yard beneath the scrutiny of their mothers and a few watchful students taking turns attending to them. The lambs’ successful births have been a needed bright spot at tiny Sterling College, which uses a 130-acre farm to teach agriculture and other disciplines in a part of northeastern Vermont so isolated there’s no cell service and it’s rare to see a passing car. LillyAnne Keeley, a senior, likes that remoteness. “We have a beautiful view,” said Keeley, in the barn where she’s come for her turn checking on the lambs. “There are beautiful sunsets here. I kind of take it for granted every day.” Sponsor Message She and her classmates have started taking such experiences less for granted now, since Sterling has announced that it will close in May at the end of this semester. They’re not the last students around the country who will suffer such disruption. A new estimate projects that 442 of the nation’s 1,700 private, nonprofit four-year colleges and universities, with a combined 670,000 students, are at risk of closing or having to merge within the next 10 years. LillyAnne Keely holds a newborn lamb in the barn at Sterling College, which focuses on agriculture and related disciplines. Oliver Parini for The Hechinger Report Oliver Parini for The Hechinger Report More than 120 institutions are at the very highest risk, according to the forecast by Huron Consulting Group, which helps clients in industries including higher education formulate business strategies. For its assessment, the company analyzed enrollment trends, tuition revenue, assets, debt, cash on hand and other measures. Many are, like Sterling, small and rural. “Now that this might be gone, I just really worry about some students out there that are going to have less and less choices,” Keeley said. It’s a crisis whose magnitude has been overshadowed by political and culture-war attacks on higher education and is propelled by the simple law of supply and demand after a long decline in the number of Americans who are going to college. “We have too many seats. We have too many classrooms,” Peter Stokes, a managing director at Huron, said of U.S. colleges and universities. “So over the coming five to 10 years, this shakeout is going to take place.” Sterling ? for high school students (grades 9–12) in a clear, engaging, and age-appropriate way. Use straightforward but respectful language and keep the summary under 150 words. Focus on key facts and why the story matters. Then, on a new line and as a separate paragraph, include one insightful, open-ended question labeled as “ QUESTION:” The question should: • Be directly related to the article • Be varied in tone and structure (not repetitive) • Encourage reflection, curiosity, or connection to students’ lives Examples of question types to rotate through: • What could happen if…? • How would you feel if…? • Why do you think…? • What should people do about…? • How might this affect your generation? Format: [Summary paragraph] QUESTION: [Your insightful, open-ended question here]
More than a quarter of private colleges are at risk of closing, a new projection shows
