A Harvard higher education expert predicts that 25 percent of American colleges will shut their doors within the next two decades based on rising costs and falling admissions.

According to a report by CBS News, some experts are predicting that the landscape of American education will shift dramatically over the next 20 years. Michael Horn, an education scholar at Harvard University, predicts that many universities and colleges will either close or merge by 2040.

“I think 25% of schools will fail in the next two decades,” Horn said. “They’re going to close, they’re going to merge, some will declare some form of bankruptcy to reinvent themselves. It’s going to be brutal across American higher education.”

Horn thinks that the future of learning may take place on smartphones. Online education programs, which become increasingly popular in 2019, not only cheaper than traditional degree programs but also more convenient. Online programs often allow students to listen to pre-recorded lectures in their own free time and from the comfort of their own home.

“I think we’re gonna see, basically, faster and cheaper programs emerge,” Horn added. “I also think we’re gonna see a lot of mobile learning programs come up, where you can literally just pop on your phone, learn a few things. And so I think we’re gonna see a lot more of these sort of flexible, affordable, convenient programs.”

The report notes that there will be no fall semester at the 185-year-old Green Mountain College in Vermont. Additionally, Southern Vermont College, the College of St. Joseph, and Atlantic Union College have all shut down permanently in the last year.

Breitbart News reported in June about the massive increase in the cost of a college education. Economist Richard Vedder argued then that the current bleak outcomes for college graduates do not justify the rising costs of tuition.