The way some schools are responding to campus protests could give some donors pause and that’s a big problem.

Forbes reports.

Amid Campus Protests, Universities Worry About . . . Fundraising

The recent rash of campus protests has caught the national eye, causing some to ask, “What exactly are students taught in college today?” and “What are senior university administrators doing to enforce—or not enforce—rigorous instruction, the instruction needed to ensure that American college graduates are able to survive in the intensely competitive, 21st-century world marketplace?”

However, a new report suggests that universities are focusing on a different question: “How will our school’s response to the campus unrest affect our annual fundraising?” This is the thrust of an article that informs its readers, “As colleges grapple with issues of race and diversity, they face questions from alumni and donors—not all of whom are pleased with new campus efforts.”

It is not difficult to understand why schools should be so concerned about their alumni’s and other donors’ reactions to both the student protests and, more important, to how the administration reacts to them. After all, national polling results show that, even before the recent spate of protests, large segments of the American people have been concerned over tuition hyperinflation and crushing student-loan debt.

Polling also shows equal concern on the part of the public that schools are not adequately preparing students for the rigors of the world of work. The fourth annual Gallup-Lumina Foundation poll finds that only 13 percent of Americans strongly agree that “college graduates in this country are well-prepared for success in the workplace.” This number is down from 19 percent three years ago.