Labouré College of Healthcare in Milton, Massachusetts — a nursing school founded in 1892 — announced in February 2026 that it will close at the end of August. Nursing students currently enrolled can continue their programs at Curry College, approximately four miles away, with credits transferring and tuition held at Labouré's announced rates. Curry plans to hire about 15 Labouré faculty members and 20 staffers. The closure is part of a broader wave affecting small, tuition-dependent colleges as the pool of college-age students begins a projected multi-year decline.

Labouré College of Healthcare has been training nurses in the greater Boston area since 1892. In February 2026, the college announced it will cease operations at the end of August — joining a growing list of small institutions that have determined they cannot sustain their financial model as enrollment pressure intensifies.

For current Labouré students, the news comes with a workable plan. For prospective students and families at other small schools, the closure is a reminder to ask questions before enrollment that too few people think to ask.

What Is Happening at Labouré

Labouré offered associate and bachelor's degree programs in nursing: an Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN), an LPN-to-RN bridge program (LPN-RN), and an RN-to-BSN completion program for working nurses. The college served a regional student population in suburban Boston, in Milton, Massachusetts.

The college cited enrollment decline and financial sustainability challenges as the reasons for closure — the same combination that has ended dozens of institutions in recent years.1

What Happens to Current Students

Curry College, located in Milton roughly four miles from Labouré, has agreed to absorb the nursing programs under a new unit called the Labouré Center for Advancing Healthcare Opportunity at Curry College.

According to Curry College's announcement, the transition plan includes:2

  • Students can continue their ASN, LPN-RN, and RN-BSN programs at Curry beginning fall 2026
  • Credits earned at Labouré will transfer
  • Tuition will be held at Labouré's published 2026-27 rate — not Curry's higher rate
  • Curry is hiring approximately 15 members of Labouré's nursing faculty
  • Approximately 20 Labouré staff members will also transition to Curry
  • Curry is seeking approvals from all relevant regulatory bodies to offer the nursing degrees

Curry College is seeking approvals from accrediting bodies before fall — students should monitor Curry's official communications and confirm their enrollment status directly with Curry's admissions office rather than assuming the transition is automatic.

If you are a Labouré student, request an official transcript and a transfer credit evaluation letter from Curry before the summer ends. Even with formal guarantees, individual course-to-course credit transfer can sometimes get lost in institutional transitions. Get your transcript in hand and verify credit counts in writing.

Why Small Colleges Are Closing More Frequently

The Labouré closure is not an isolated event. In the first half of 2025, more than one college per week in the United States announced it would close, according to Bloomberg's reporting on what demographers call the "enrollment cliff."3

The enrollment cliff refers to a demographic reality: the number of 18-year-olds in the United States peaked at approximately 3.9 million in 2025, and is projected to fall roughly 15 percent between 2025 and 2029, according to research by higher education economist Nathan Grawe. The decline traces directly to a drop in birth rates during the 2008-2009 financial crisis — those children are now approaching college age, or rather, there are far fewer of them.

The institutions most vulnerable are those that are small, tuition-dependent, and carry limited endowments — particularly in the Northeast, Midwest, and California. These schools lack the financial cushion to ride out enrollment downturns. When tuition revenue drops and expenses don't, the math becomes unsustainable.

Labouré fits the profile. So do dozens of other small colleges currently operating with structurally unsound finances, some of which have not yet made public announcements.

Questions to Ask Before Enrolling at a Small College

If you are choosing between colleges — or are already enrolled at a smaller institution — these are the questions worth asking directly:

1. What is the school's enrollment trend over the past five years? Institutional research offices are required to report this data publicly through IPEDS (the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System). A school that has lost more than 15-20% of its enrollment in five years deserves a closer look.

2. Is the school regional or national in its accreditation? Regional accreditation generally means your credits are more transferable if you need to move.

3. What is the school's endowment per student? A school with less than $10,000 per enrolled student in endowment has very little financial buffer.

4. Has the school undergone a HLC or regional accreditor review recently? Accreditors sometimes issue "monitoring" or "show cause" notices before closures — these are public records.

If your college announces significant budget cuts, program eliminations, or accreditation reviews, do not wait to see how it plays out. Contact the registrar's office immediately to request your official transcript, and contact your state's higher education agency to understand your student protection options. Most states have teach-out plan requirements that protect enrolled students.

What Students Do If Their College Closes Mid-Enrollment

Federal student protections exist for closures — but they have limits. If a school closes while you are enrolled, you may be eligible for a "closed school discharge" of your federal student loans, but only if you cannot complete your program at another school. If a teach-out agreement is in place (like the Curry arrangement for Labouré students), the discharge may not be available.

The Department of Education's Federal Student Aid office maintains guidance on closed school discharges. Students who transferred successfully under a teach-out plan should also keep documentation of all credit transfer decisions in case loan servicers ask about their enrollment continuity.

For more on how to evaluate your financial aid offers when comparing schools — including understanding what happens to institutional aid if a school's finances deteriorate — our financial aid guide covers the key questions.

If you're already in a situation where you need to transfer, our community college transfer guide explains how credits move between institutions. If you're choosing between schools now, knowing how to read college rankings beyond prestige metrics can help you identify financially stable institutions.

The Broader Takeaway for Students

A college closure is not an indictment of the students who attended. Labouré trained nurses who have worked in the Boston area for over 130 years. The programs mattered. The closure reflects demographic pressure and a financial model that was built for a world with more 18-year-olds.

For students making enrollment decisions today, the lesson is practical: understand the financial health of any school you are considering, especially smaller ones. The demographic trend that closed Labouré is not reversing on a timeline that will spare struggling institutions.

Footnotes

  1. Higher Ed Dive. (2026). Labouré College to close in August. https://www.highereddive.com/news/laboure-college-healthcare-close-august-curry-college-nursing/812270/ ↩

  2. Curry College. (2026). Labouré College Nursing Programs to Transition to Curry College's School of Nursing and Health Sciences. https://www.curry.edu/about-us/news-and-events/news/laboure-college-nursing-programs-to-transition-to-curry-colleges--school-of-nursing-and-health-sciences ↩

  3. Bloomberg. (2026). Colleges Close as Falling US Birth Rate Pushes Them Off Enrollment Cliff. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-college-enrollment-cliff/ ↩