College Presidents Worry About Their Schools Closing
Could the end of the road be near for many schools? College presidents are worrying about that.
Bloomberg reports.
College Presidents Worry Their Schools Won’t Survive
Facing shrinking budgets and, in some cases, flagging enrollment, a growing number of college presidents are concerned about the future of their institutions, according to a new Inside Higher Ed report based on Gallup data.
Only 39 percent of college presidents surveyed for the report felt confident their institution’s financial model would be sustainable for the next decade, down from 50 percent a year earlier. They were more positive about shorter-term survival: Fifty-six percent predicted they’d be OK for five years. That’s still well below the 62 percent who felt that way in 2014. To gauge the officials’ sentiment, Gallup polled presidents of 338 public institutions and 262 private nonprofits in the U.S. in January and February.
“We’ve really reached a turning point,” says Ronald Ehrenberg, a professor of industrial and labor relations and economics at Cornell and head of the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute. “The growing debt crisis and decline in family incomes after the recession has made people very cost-conscious, and institutions aren’t going to be able to increase tuition as rapidly in the future.”
Comments
Totally self-inflicted. Many are seeing what was gained from time and money spent for college. Many have huge debts and no career opportunities. Instead of being on the path to success, they are trapped. Further, the most educated people didn’t see that this was coming until now. Well, so much for the benefits of higher learning! Those ivory towers won’t be so ivory anymore when students find a cheaper and more efficient was to get to where they want to be. Competition has always been the solution.
It’s gotten to the point where I just want to say “who cares”? These institutions of learning have morphed into institutions of indoctrination. The last thing this country needs is more Socialists/Communists, and that’s what these schools are producing.
Most universities deserve this. My college has increased annual tuition and fees nearly 600% in 25 years (1990 – $2000; 2015 – $11,700). Even our administrators admit that the federal government has helped feed the tuition monster with grants and loans. Now, financial aid money is not keeping up with rising tuition, and that means more money coming directly out of students’/parents’ pockets. Guess what? Our customers are not as willing to pay the ever-increasing price for college. In the last eight years alone, our enrollment has dropped 22%, resulting in the closure of three dorms and two dining halls, reductions in faculty and staff, and cuts in services. The outlook for our campus is pretty grim, but we’ll raise tuition again next year!