And then there were fewer.

That’s the reality in higher education this academic year.

About two dozen colleges and universities announced plans to shut down before graduation this past spring; more than 80 colleges closed or merged between 2020 and 2025.

And more than 440 private colleges are at significant risk of shutting down in the near future — about a quarter of the nationwide total. 

Even sports powerhouses like New York’s Syracuse University are beginning to struggle financially, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.

Where I’m from, near Philadelphia, at least a dozen institutions of higher education are in perilous financial shape: They just aren’t enrolling enough students to pay the bills.

It’s a gloomy picture for alumni and academics — but there’s a silver lining.

These failing schools could be the launching pad for higher education’s fundamental transformation.

Most pundits blame demographic trends — a long-term decline in college-age Americans — on these enrollment troubles. That’s certainly a big contributing factor.

But the real problem is that struggling schools don’t provide enough value in the eyes of potential customers.

Students have plenty of choices for a college education; they pick what they think will benefit them long-term.

Not enough of them saw the value of learning at the schools that have shut down.

But as any entrepreneur will tell you, a failing business is also an opportunity. 

Any business has assets and experience that could easily be applied to better, more effective uses — and what’s true for a business can be true for a college. 

Every school has buildings, resources and alumni networks that could be tapped to provide an education that more students want. 

What’s needed is a cadre of philanthropists and local leaders willing to take over a struggling school and fundamentally improve its value.

That is, to buy a failing college lock, stock and barrel.

There’s no shortage of money pouring into higher-ed reform. 

Philanthropists famously launched the University of Austin in 2021, focused on open discourse and intellectual formation, with a $200 million investment.

It’s now seeking accreditation by 2028. 

Meanwhile, donors and alumni at many existing universities are establishing new centers and programs that aim to give students a better education based on civil debate and open inquiry. 

My organization, the Open Discourse Coalition, promotes such debate at Bucknell University, and in satellite events at the University of Pennsylvania and others.

I’m personally co-teaching a course at Bucknell this semester that introduces students to the history and diversity of the conservative movement.

Such efforts make a difference, especially at institutions where indoctrination reigns supreme. 

But bigger solutions are also necessary. 

Reorienting failing schools from top to bottom could truly disrupt higher education, attracting students eager for a new approach.

Think schools that focus fully on the Western tradition — Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman education.

Or schools that completely ditch lectures for debate and discourse-based classes, to prepare students for real-life civic participation.

Some colleges could center on artificial intelligence, others on apprenticeships.

A school could specialize in a single industry or field of study.

Regardless of the direction, buying a failing college would likely be more affordable than building a new one from the ground up. 

The University of Austin has now tallied $300 million in donations, and counting.

Taking over a failing school could cost much less — tens of millions, perhaps.

The buyer would gain access to its buildings and infrastructure, and crucially, would inherit its accreditation — a costly, time-consuming process when starting it from scratch.

There would be other difficulties, such as overcoming resistance from faculty reactionaries (who, of course, call themselves progressive).

I’ve seen firsthand how small factions of tenured radicals can paralyze universities.

Tenure was created to protect the free exchange of ideas; can there be any question that it’s failed?

But eliminating whole programs could make that issue moot.

Tenure protects individuals from retribution — it doesn’t prevent cutting entire departments that have outlived their usefulness.

In any case, the financial challenges facing higher ed make downsizing inevitable and imminent — whether faculty like it or not.

It’s too late to fix the many colleges that have already closed or announced mergers.

But it’s not too late to snag other schools at death’s door.

Some institutions may prefer to go the way of the dodo rather than see reformers take the reins. 

But others may wish to see their institution endure — even under different management.

Visionary philanthropists could make offers that administrators can’t refuse.

The growing number of failing colleges shouldn’t just be a cause for grief. 

It should spark action nationwide to reorient higher education in ways that empower students and improve society.

Failing colleges offer hope not because they’re failing, but because of what they could yet become.

Charles Mitchell is co-founder and CEO of the Open Discourse Coalition.