By Douglas Belkin

Wall Street Journal

The number of colleges in the U.S. declined by nearly 6% between the past academic year and the year before, according to a new count by the federal government, and the rate of closings is accelerating.

“In the next 10 to 15 years, we’ll see many fewer traditional colleges serving many more students,” said Michael Horn, the co-founder of Clayton Christensen Institute, which champions so-called disruptive innovation, change that creates new markets and upends existing ones. “And an increased number of upstart educational programs serving students with online learning in shorter bursts throughout people’s lives,” he added.