What's Happening in Vermont?
A Warning for Higher Ed in 2025...
Over the past decade, more than 20% of Vermont’s colleges and universities have closed or merged.
In 2019 alone...
📉 Southern Vermont College, Green Mountain College, and College of St. Joseph shut their doors.
📉 Marlboro College merged with Emerson.
📉 The New England Culinary Institute followed suit.
The reality unfolding in Vermont isn’t unique - but it is accelerating.
Why Vermont? Why Now?
The same forces impacting higher ed nationwide are amplified in Vermont:
🔹 Too many institutions, too few students – The state historically had the highest number of colleges per capita, many with <1,000 students.
🔹 Skyrocketing costs – Despite having the second smallest GDP, Vermont has the highest public tuition rates and one of the most expensive private college sectors in the U.S.
🔹 Declining enrollment + rising costs = an unsustainable model for tuition-dependent institutions.
And here’s the eye-opening stat:
Between 2016 and 2019, Vermont accounted for 30% of all private nonprofit college closures nationwide.
But Vermont Isn’t an Outlier - It’s an Early Indicator
The pressures playing out in Vermont aren’t unique. They’re a preview of what’s ahead for tuition-dependent colleges across the country.
For some, predictions of mass closures still feel distant. But in Vermont? They’re already reality...
- Seth
About The Author
Seth is the founder and CEO of Kanahoma, a San Diego-based performance marketing agency on a mission to build a better agency for organizations building a better world.
You can learn more about who we are and what we do at www.Kanahoma.com.