It's still an odd statistic if the demand for college-as-credential is holding strong or rising. Likely explanation: demographic dip. The demand for a credenti

It's still an odd statistic if the demand for college-as-credential is holding strong or rising. Likely explanation: demographic dip. The demand for a credential is still high (perhaps even rising), but the number of college age students is either in a local dip or downward trend. And the value of a small college has always been marginal, so that's where the leading edge of the trend hits. Enrollment falls, tuition receipts with it, public funding is strained, the institution closes.