Women’s Colleges Are Going Co-Ed to Survive. Does It Threaten Their Missions?

In the 19th century, women’s colleges numbered in the hundreds. By 2014, there were only 42, according to federal data. In 2021, there were 35. Some of those institutions closed entirely. Others became coeducational as single-sex postsecondary education collapsed starting in the 1960s. Since the beginning of 2021, two other institutions have moved to take their names off the list of women’s colleges.