Number of Colleges Dipped 1.7% in 2023-24 Academic Year

The number of colleges eligible for Title IV financial aid dropped slightly to 5,819 in the 2023-24 academic year, down 1.7% from the year before, according to data released Wednesday from the National Center of Education Statistics. That decline represents an overall loss of about 100 Title IV institutions. Those reductions include colleges that closed, institutions that remain open but lost their Title IV eligibility and those that merged, according to an emailed statement from NCES.  The for-profit sector experienced some of the heaviest declines, the new data shows. NCES counted 307 four-year for-profits in the 2023-24 academic year, a 4.1% drop year over year. Similarly, the number of two-year for-profit institutions declined 3.6% year over year, falling to 508 colleges.