A new ranking of U.S. colleges and universities is sounding the alarm on institutions showing significant financial distress. Open School Ranking, created by Johns Hopkins educator and entrepreneur Dan Ye, calls these schools “walking zombies” and says they could be at risk of collapse within the next five years.
Not quite within that category — yet still at risk, Ye says — is Florida Memorial University, South Florida’s only private historically Black college, located in Miami Gardens.
In December 2025, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) placed FMU on accreditation probation due to failure to meet standards relating to financial health. The next review is set for December 2026.
The school has found itself within the “distressed” category on Ye’s list, placing 122nd out of 1,375 schools ranked for financial risk. The schools at the top of the list — those with the highest scores — showed the most “stress” or “collapse signals,” whereas schools with a 0 score — located at the bottom of the list — were deemed stable and healthy. FMU has a score of 62.3…