đź‘‹ About University Deathpool
UniversityDeathpool.com was born out of curiosity—and turned into a mission.
Originally skeptical of the so-called enrollment cliff, I began exploring the financial realities facing private, not-for-profit universities across the country. I assumed the narrative was more myth than math—an excuse for administrators to delay investing in instruction and infrastructure.
But I was wrong.
What I found instead was a growing, measurable crisis: one in four private universities may not survive to 2028.
This project is a response to that discovery. It brings together data from the IRS (Form 990s), IPEDS, and national population projections to create the Collegiate Survivability Index (CSI)—a model that evaluates universities based on:
- 📉 Financial stability
- 🎓 Academic efficiency
- 🌍 Market saturation and location risk
🔄 What to Expect
This site will continuously evolve. As new data is released and universities begin to close, we’ll update:
- đź—Ś Interactive maps
- đź“Š Denominational survivability charts
- 🧠In-depth analysis by sector and geography
But we won’t stop there.
UniversityDeathpool.com is also a space for strategies. In the coming months, we’ll be publishing research and insights to help universities:
- Make better operational budgeting decisions
- Manage and deploy endowments with sustainability in mind
- Navigate the political landscape to advocate for funding and fairness
Our goal isn’t just to report on institutional risk. It’s to reduce it.
👤 About the Author
I’m Dr. James Long, a professor of finance and economics with over two decades of experience in higher education. I hold a Ph.D. in Business, with post-doctoral work in finance, and I currently serve as the Chair of the Division of Business at Friends University, a private faith-based institution in Wichita, Kansas.
As a faculty member, I’ve seen firsthand how decisions about enrollment, staffing, and investment ripple through institutions. I’ve also worked with national accreditation bodies and led research on instructional innovation, including gamification and experiential learning.
UniversityDeathpool.com combines my academic work, administrative insight, and love of data into one unapologetically honest resource for higher education.