Sweet Briar College announced Tuesday that it is shutting down at the end of this academic year. Small colleges close or merge from time to time, more frequently since the economic downturn started in 2008. But the move is unusual in that Sweet Briar still has a meaningful endowment, regional accreditation and some well-respected programs. But college officials said that the trend lines were too unfavorable, and that efforts to consider different strategies didn't yield any viable options. So the college decided to close now, with some sense of order, rather than drag out the process for several more years, as it could have done.

March 4, 2015 ・ From Inside Higher Ed