College undergraduate enrollment is expected to drop this year due to low birth rates, a consequence of the economic recession of 2007/2008, CNBC reported. This significant enrollment drop could force many smaller colleges and universities across the country to close due to low numbers of enrollment of incoming freshmen for the fall of 2026, CNBC reported.

The high school class of 2026 was born in 2007/2008, when birth rates dropped significantly, according to the CNBC report.    

Additionally, increasing college tuition and a rising cost of living are making it difficult for some college students to afford college or university, causing colleges and universities to fail to meet financial requirements, according to the CNBC report.

These closures, as well as the decline in applicants, will also produce fewer college graduates, posing a serious threat to the US economy as less job positions will be filled, CNBC reported.