A Mournful Goodbye: Hampshire College Closing, No New Enrollments For Fall 2026

Hampshire College was founded in 1965 as an experiment in higher education and opened its doors in 1970. The presidents of the Four Colleges from Amherst, Smith, Mount Holyoke and UMass desired to make a safe space where ideas different from the status quo could grow. They felt traditional college was too inflexible and would not be able to adopt these teaching methods at a typical college.

From the moment the doors opened, Hampshire dismissed the norms of academia, leaving behind grades and majors for a student-centered curriculum. Their founding document, “The Making of a College,” was a vision where students were responsible for their own higher-education pursuits. The risky foundation defined it for over 50 years, its unique identity became hard to maintain, as on April 14, 2026, they announced that it is coming to an end.

Money Troubles Like A Firecracker

Jan. 15, 2019, during President Miriam Nelson’s time with Hampshire College, she announced seeking partners with which to merge, due to the college’s lack of money needed to stay independent. According to Hampshire College’s news bulletin, this did not go over well, as it was met with distress and criticism. The Board and Nelson spent months looking to keep the school independent, but the community was already losing trust.

The movie, “The Unmaking of a College,” was released in 2022 and was a documentary on American College history’s longest student sit-in performance. The sit-in started Jan. 31, 2019, as students lived in President Nelson’s office. This demonstration would end up being one of many that would slowly lead to the college’s failure to be stable on its own. With faculty holding a vote of no confidence in her leadership, the attempts to build the school up would come to a halt. The students may have claimed victory, but Hampshire did not.

April saw Board Chair Gaye Hill, Vice Chair Kim Saal, and even President Nelson resign from the school leadership roles. The Board of Trustees appointed Ken Rosenthal on April 5, 2019, as interim president. Due to difficulties in enrollment and being unable to balance its budget, the school board voted to focus on the current students and not admit a new class that fall. This move was based on the idea that the school might have to close without finding a way out of the negative. Ultimately, the plan backfired as they only saw 13 new students, and the college used what tuition it had to pay its bills. 

The Re-Invention Of Hampshire College

Late 2019 saw Hampshire’s President Ed Wingenbach release what was called “Letter on Plans for Hampshire’s Future,” per Hampshire’s edu website. In it, he detailed the plan for Hampshire College to become able to stand on its own with fundraising and budget balancing, including a restructuring of the academic program and the student experience. They sought to lower the operating costs and set a baseline for the future. The focus was on full enrollment by the 2023-2024 year, and a campaign to raise $60m by June 30, 2024, which would allow the school to keep operating at maximum capacity.

He realized that Hampshire couldn’t survive in the climate of a normal college, instead throwing out academia for learning collaboratives. This was a large group focused on big questions, such as climate change and social justice initiatives. They wanted to focus on teaching students to take an idea and turn it into an actionable project. Targeting global challenges over building English majors, they wanted to attract the up-and-coming wave of activists and innovators.

Closing The Doors on Hampshire College

While the funding campaign and structure change to teaching helped raise more than $55m, according to WWLP, they did not make their mark, and enrollment growth just wasn’t where it needed to be. For the remainder of the current academic year, they will continue offering services as well as transitional services. They will allow students in their final year to complete their degrees, with campus housing and other services remaining available. The graduation for those eligible is scheduled for May 16, 2026. Remaining students will be helped to move to other nearby colleges to finish their degrees.