Christian institutions account for 51 of the 99 significant college closures, mergers, and acquisitions tracked by Higher Ed Dive since January 2020.
Of the evangelical institutions on the list, 71% closed outright.
Why?
A struggling design school can join a larger university. A health sciences school can join a health network. But who acquires a struggling evangelical college?
Four challenges stand out.
1. Many were tiny, but not all.
Providence Christian had roughly 60 students. Wave Leadership had only a few dozen. At that size, the liabilities may outweigh the opportunities for a merger partner.
Yet Alliance University, formerly Nyack College, had more than 1,800 students in 2021 before closing in 2023. Size alone does not guarantee sustainability.
2. Accreditation problems were already evident.
Providence Christian was on WSCUC probation. Ohio Valley was on HLC probation. Alliance lost Middle States accreditation, and Alderson Broaddus lost state authorization to grant degrees.
When an accreditor intervenes, the institution is often already deep into its crisis.
3. Emergency fundraising came too late.
Limestone raised more than $2 million in roughly two weeks, but it needed $6 million. Donors were being asked to solve years of structural problems in days.
4. Evangelical colleges have fewer merger options.
Every evangelical merger on the list stayed within evangelical higher education. Phoenix Seminary joined Biola, Multnomah joined Jessup, Compass joined Calvin, B.H. Carroll joined East Texas Baptist, and St. Louis Christian joined Central Christian College of the Bible.
Even a merger may not preserve the college. Jessup acquired Multnomah in 2024, then discontinued residential undergraduate education and athletics at its Portland campus in 2025.
The mission found a partner, but the undergraduate model didn’t survive.
The lesson here is clear: Find a strategic partner before you desperately need one.
Phoenix Seminary’s board said its combination with Biola wasn’t forced by an immediate crisis. It acted while it still had choices.
Too many other institutions followed a similar path: declining enrollment, thin reserves, deferred decisions, accreditor concern, emergency fundraising, and closure.
Christian college leaders must confront financial sustainability while they still have the resources and freedom to make strategic choices.
The longer they wait, the fewer choices remain.
Don’t try to survive long enough for someone to save your institution. Make decisions today that give your mission a future worth preserving.
Better yet, create a winning strategy that puts you on the path to growth.
At TG Three, we help Christian colleges confront hard realities and build sustainable futures. If your institution is facing difficult questions about its future, let’s talk.
| Category | Total | Closed outright | Merged or acquired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protestant | 30 | 21 | 9 |
| Catholic | 20 | 16 | 4 |
| Orthodox | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Secular private | 24 | 13 | 11 |
| Health and specialty | 13 | 6 | 7 |
| Art and design | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Public | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 99 | 61 | 38 |
| Institution | State | Year announced | Category | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Providence | Montana | 2026 | Catholic | Closure |
| University of Valley Forge | Pennsylvania | 2026 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College | California | 2026 | Health and specialty | Closure |
| Phoenix Seminary | Arizona | 2026 | Protestant (evangelical) | Merger/acquisition |
| Anna Maria College | Massachusetts | 2026 | Catholic | Closure |
| Hampshire College | Massachusetts | 2026 | Secular private | Closure |
| University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis | Missouri | 2026 | Health and specialty | Merger/acquisition |
| Labouré College of Healthcare | Massachusetts | 2026 | Health and specialty | Closure |
| Lourdes University | Ohio | 2026 | Catholic | Closure |
| Providence Christian College | California | 2026 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| California College of the Arts | California | 2026 | Art and design | Closure |
| Martin University | Indiana | 2025 | Secular private | Closure |
| Sterling College | Vermont | 2025 | Secular private | Closure |
| Trinity Christian College | Illinois | 2025 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| Queens University of Charlotte | North Carolina | 2025 | Protestant (mainline) | Merger/acquisition |
| St. Luke’s College | Iowa | 2025 | Health and specialty | Merger/acquisition |
| Siena Heights University | Michigan | 2025 | Catholic | Closure |
| Keystone College | Pennsylvania | 2025 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| New Jersey City University | New Jersey | 2025 | Public | Merger/acquisition |
| Bacone College | Oklahoma | 2025 | Protestant (mainline) | Closure |
| Limestone University | South Carolina | 2025 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| St. Andrews University | North Carolina | 2025 | Protestant (mainline) | Closure |
| Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences | New York | 2025 | Health and specialty | Merger/acquisition |
| East Georgia State College | Georgia | 2025 | Public | Merger/acquisition |
| Rosemont College | Pennsylvania | 2025 | Catholic | Merger/acquisition |
| Cornish College of the Arts | Washington | 2025 | Art and design | Merger/acquisition |
| Northland College | Wisconsin | 2025 | Secular private | Closure |
| California State University Maritime Academy | California | 2024 | Public | Merger/acquisition |
| Ursuline College | Ohio | 2024 | Catholic | Merger/acquisition |
| Peirce College | Pennsylvania | 2024 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| Mount Mercy University | Iowa | 2024 | Catholic | Merger/acquisition |
| Clarks Summit University | Pennsylvania | 2024 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| Eastern Nazarene College | Massachusetts | 2024 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| Union Institute & University | Ohio | 2024 | Secular private | Closure |
| Pittsburgh Technical College | Pennsylvania | 2024 | Health and specialty | Closure |
| University of the Arts | Pennsylvania | 2024 | Art and design | Closure |
| Marymount Manhattan College | New York | 2024 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| Delaware College of Art and Design | Delaware | 2024 | Art and design | Closure |
| Oregon College of Oriental Medicine | Oregon | 2024 | Health and specialty | Closure |
| Wells College | New York | 2024 | Secular private | Closure |
| University of Saint Katherine | California | 2024 | Orthodox | Closure |
| Goddard College | Vermont | 2024 | Secular private | Closure |
| Oak Point University | Illinois | 2024 | Health and specialty | Closure |
| Birmingham-Southern College | Alabama | 2024 | Protestant (mainline) | Closure |
| Fontbonne University | Missouri | 2024 | Catholic | Closure |
| Notre Dame College | Ohio | 2024 | Catholic | Closure |
| Cambridge College | Massachusetts | 2024 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| The College of Saint Rose | New York | 2023 | Catholic | Closure |
| Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts | New Hampshire | 2023 | Catholic | Closure |
| Multnomah University | Oregon | 2023 | Protestant (evangelical) | Merger/acquisition |
| Maryland University of Integrative Health | Maryland | 2023 | Health and specialty | Merger/acquisition |
| Lincoln Christian University | Illinois | 2023 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| Alderson Broaddus University | West Virginia | 2023 | Protestant (mainline) | Closure |
| Cox College | Missouri | 2023 | Health and specialty | Closure |
| Hodges University | Florida | 2023 | Secular private | Closure |
| Alliance University | New York | 2023 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| Compass College of Film & Media | Michigan | 2023 | Protestant (evangelical) | Merger/acquisition |
| Cabrini University | Pennsylvania | 2023 | Catholic | Closure |
| Salus University | Pennsylvania | 2023 | Health and specialty | Merger/acquisition |
| Medaille University | New York | 2023 | Secular private | Closure |
| St. Augustine College | Illinois | 2023 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| Cardinal Stritch University | Wisconsin | 2023 | Catholic | Closure |
| Iowa Wesleyan University | Iowa | 2023 | Protestant (mainline) | Closure |
| Finlandia University | Michigan | 2023 | Protestant (mainline) | Closure |
| B. H. Carroll Theological Institute | Texas | 2023 | Protestant (evangelical) | Merger/acquisition |
| Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences | Pennsylvania | 2023 | Health and specialty | Merger/acquisition |
| Presentation College | South Dakota | 2023 | Catholic | Closure |
| Holy Names University | California | 2022 | Catholic | Closure |
| Cazenovia College | New York | 2022 | Secular private | Closure |
| Presidio Graduate School | California | 2022 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| Bloomfield College | New Jersey | 2022 | Protestant (mainline) | Merger/acquisition |
| Chatfield College | Ohio | 2022 | Catholic | Closure |
| St. John’s University Staten Island campus | New York | 2022 | Catholic | Closure |
| Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis | Indiana | 2022 | Public | Merger/acquisition |
| San Francisco Art Institute | California | 2022 | Art and design | Closure |
| Wave Leadership College | Virginia | 2022 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| Marymount California University | California | 2022 | Catholic | Closure |
| Lincoln College | Illinois | 2022 | Secular private | Closure |
| Ohio Valley University | West Virginia | 2021 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| Mills College | California | 2021 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| St. Louis Christian College | Missouri | 2021 | Protestant (evangelical) | Merger/acquisition |
| Sierra Nevada University | Nevada | 2021 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| University of the Sciences | Pennsylvania | 2021 | Health and specialty | Merger/acquisition |
| Judson College | Alabama | 2021 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| Becker College | Massachusetts | 2021 | Secular private | Closure |
| Concordia College New York | New York | 2021 | Protestant (LCMS) | Closure |
| Pacific Northwest College of Art | Oregon | 2020 | Art and design | Merger/acquisition |
| Martin Methodist College | Tennessee | 2020 | Protestant (mainline) | Merger/acquisition |
| Ancilla College | Indiana | 2020 | Catholic | Merger/acquisition |
| Marlboro College | Vermont | 2020 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| Wesley College | Delaware | 2020 | Protestant (mainline) | Merger/acquisition |
| Pine Manor College | Massachusetts | 2020 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| Holy Family College | Wisconsin | 2020 | Catholic | Closure |
| Urbana University | Ohio | 2020 | Secular private | Closure |
| Nebraska Christian College | Nebraska | 2020 | Protestant (evangelical) | Closure |
| MacMurray College | Illinois | 2020 | Protestant (mainline) | Closure |
| Robert Morris University | Illinois | 2020 | Secular private | Merger/acquisition |
| Concordia University – Portland | Oregon | 2020 | Protestant (LCMS) | Closure |
| Watkins College of Art | Tennessee | 2020 | Art and design | Merger/acquisition |