In general, do you think the projected closure/merging of struggling private US colleges is generally positive or negative for society?

Generally positive (35%) – "Hopefully, it will be a wake-up call to revamp the way colleges function. Not all GE classes are essential. Teach the students what they need to know, and let them out. Not everyone wants to start their lives off with huge debt...and maybe it isn't necessary to do so."

• "The education is not as valuable especially for the price. Also, most colleges and universities teach students what to think and not how to think, especially for degrees in studies which have no practical knowledge and are ideological only."

"Small private colleges exist due to supply and demand. They go extinct the same way. The ROI on a college degree just isn’t there for most college majors. My plumber makes more than my BA ever earned."

• "They might finally listen that college should be for education, not indoctrination and they need to be fiscally responsible in their budgets. Tenure needs to go away and overblown professor packages need to be tackled."

Generally negative (42%) – "Fewer schools mean a reduction in options for students, and less opportunities for teachers in higher education. Trade schools are great options for people excited to pursue a trade, but continuing education should be an affordable option available to all. Some course correction is needed, because universities need to be more than a checklist item on a career path, but real learning, exposure to new ideas, and development of critical thinking skills are so, so important for everyone. I fear what else will be lost with the closure of so many schools."

• "College is very costly. Closing down Colleges will increase prices and lower acceptance rates. If you want to make a radical change in the collegiate system, figure out how lower the prices."

"I went to a large public university. While seated in an auditorium listening to a lecture, there was no interaction with the instructor, who was oftentimes a graduate student. From that vantage point, I can easily see the greater value of a smaller, private school with far more opportunities to interact with instructors and peers. I was just one of many thousands chasing a degree, rather than an education. Losing small private schools would not only narrow our choices but also commodify higher education education even further."

• "I went to a small private college myself and wouldn't be who I am today without my time there. My college is, unfortunately, one of those that folded in recent years and I am very saddened not to even have the option available for my own children. Larger universities can often make someone feel like a number (as I experienced first-hand in my graduate studies) and I wouldn't trade the personalized experience of my college years for the world."

Neutral/other (23%) – "The idea of more schools closing makes me worried about the future of education but it is hard to blame people for not choosing college as their first choice. I grew up in a time where the idea was hammered into me that the only successful path in life was to go to college. To skip out on a degree was to risk setting myself up for failure or at the very least more hardship. Now though, there are many alternative paths that can be taken and still see roughly the same, if not more, success."

• "It's a shift in priorities, and at least in the short term, it almost feels necessary. However, long-term there will be worse consequences because we'll be out critical jobs like scientists, researchers, doctors, nurses, social workers, historians, etc. Could college be better organized to be prioritized for students instead of trying to squeeze money out of them at every turn? Yes, absolutely, and I think it's necessary (as someone who went to college and struggles to get a job related to my degree or skills at all). But the skills taught at college are still important to have available for those capable of learning at that level."