Page 20 - BusinessWest May 11, 2026

EDUCATION >>
BY JOSEPH BEDNAR
Keeping School in
[email protected]
national College (AIC), surveys a higher-educa-
When Michael Dodge, provost at American Inter-
tion landscape that has seen two Massachusetts
institutions, Hampshire College and Anna Maria
College, announce their immiment closures in
the coming weeks and months, he hears warning bells — and a
call to action.
“We are seeing more disruption in the market, including insti-
Session
tutional closures, which create both uncertainty for students and
instability in regional enrollment patterns,” Dodge said. “When a
college closes, it is not just about numbers. It is about students
needing continuity, clarity, and trust in where they land next.
Institutions that cannot respond quickly and transparently in
those moments will struggle.”
Colleges Face
Looming
Enrollment
When Hampshire College announced it will shut its doors at
the end of 2026, it wasn’t the biggest surprise; the unconvention-
al Amherst institution had been struggling with low enrollment
and other challenges for some time.
“We worked aggressively to increase enrollment, refinance
existing debt, and realize new revenue via the sale of a portion
of our land. We have long known that addressing these issues is
essential to establishing a stable financial foundation, support-
ing long-term operations, and meeting regulatory requirements,”
President Jennifer Chrisler and the board of trustees noted in a
Crunch
letter to the Hampshire community. “We are faced with the clear,
heartbreaking reality that progress on each of these three key
factors has fallen far short of what we had hoped.”
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MAY 11, 2026
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