Dive Brief:

• Liz Weston writes that in a traditional economic model, falling enrollment would typically mean lower prices for colleges, but it may not be that simple.
• She writes that while the number of high school graduates enrolling in colleges may be headed downward, "non-traditional" older learners now account for the majority of the 21 million college students in the U.S.
• Still, Weston writes, schools may face competitive pressures and one expert predicts that as many as 25% of colleges and universities will merge or close in the next 15 years.

Dive Insight:

While dire predictions of shuttered universities could play out, another expert believes that schools will find ways to survive. Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, says: "Private colleges and universities are very hardy in the U.S. They don't close very often."