By 1971, five more colleges and universities joined the Union, bringing the total consortium to 22 schools of higher education.

[17] Union Institute & University's PhD program came under scrutiny by the Ohio Board of Regents, culminating in a reauthorization report published in 2002.

The PhD in Arts and Sciences, for example, was redesigned as a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, with four majors: Ethical and Creative Leadership, Public Policy and Social Change, Humanities and Culture, and Educational Studies, and offers a specialization in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

[19] Union Institute began to publicly experience severe financial distress in March 2023 when salaries owed to university staff were paid late.

[20] Throughout 2023, the university continued to exhibit signs of financial distress including further delayed wages and being locked out of its headquarters.

[26] Union was also placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring 2 by the U.S. Department of Education, a status that imposes oversight over its federal financial aid.

[28][29][30] In addition, the Education Department reported that the Institute had failed to refund more than $750,000 in student financial aid that had been required.

[2] In May 2024, the institute was placed on "Administrative Probation" by the Higher Learning Commission for failure to pay annual dues to the accrediting body.

[4][5] Despite its June 30, 2024 closure, Union Institute is still attempting to collect past due tuition payments and withholding transcripts of students who refuse to pay.

It sold Time Hill in 2008 to Lighthouse Youth Services and the Procter and Collier-Beau Brummell Building to the University of Cincinnati in 2021.