In a sign that many universities continue to face pressure to make ends meet, nearly 200 private colleges borrowed from restricted endowments in 2025, The Wall Street Journal recently reported. “The percentage of private, nonprofit colleges drawing down endowments at greater than 7%—considered a sign of financial instability—nearly doubled to 19.3% in 2025 from 9.7% in 2016,” the Journal reported. The spending on restricted endowments is just another example of the struggles many colleges face today. While elite universities and flagship universities remain financially healthy, regional public universities and non-selective private colleges are grappling with a new era in higher education. A report this May from the Huron Consulting Group found that nearly one in four private, nonprofit colleges and universities in the U.S. could close due to financial problems within the next decade.