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This predates the pandemic. Bad times are coming for four-year higher ed institutions. (Hasn't 2020 been full of good news so far?)
"Nationwide, more than 500 colleges and universities show warning signs in two or more metrics. The problems were not evenly spread among states. Combined, Ohio and Illinois have more than 10 percent of all the institutions potentially facing trouble. Ohio has 36 institutions with two or more warning signs. Illinois has 26.
"Roughly 1,360 colleges and universities have seen declines in first-year fall enrollment since 2009, including about 800 four-year institutions.
"Nearly 30 percent of all four-year schools brought in less tuition revenue per student in 2017-18 than in 2009-10.
"About 700 public campuses received less in state and local appropriations in 2017-18 than in 2009-10, and about 190 private four-year institutions saw the size of their endowments fall relative to their costs...
"Colleges have lost hundreds of thousands of students since 2010, when undergraduate enrollment peaked at just above 18 million. That figure declined to 16.6 million in 2018. Nearly 600 two- and four-year institutions saw their incoming fall enrollments drop more than a quarter in that time period."
www.nbcnews.com/news/education/crisis-looming-u-s-colleges-not-just-because-pandemic-n1235338
A crisis is looming for U.S. colleges — and not just because of the pandemic
www.nbcnews.com
More than 500 colleges and universities show warning signs of financial stress in at least two areas, The Hechinger Report's analysis found.2 days ago
My husband is saying that, in his industry, aerospace, they’re finding college is not helping incoming employees. About all its teaching is structure and organization. The actual knowledge is gained on the job. Some positions DO require specialized education, but not for most jobs there. By the time you earn the degree, the industry has changed.
Universities need to focus on their business model. They cannot exist just because they are an institution. They need to deliver a beneficial product at a marketable price. All other considerations & obligations must adapt in order for it to survive. I work for an NPO ready to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2022. It is delivering at marketable rates under extreme pressure right now, but it has survived significant challenges in the past such as the 1906 earthquake, the depression, urban upheavals, etc. In addition we deliver significant charitable programs. Universities need to get real.
Sounds like rather good news to me. The universities have priced themselves out, with crazy capital projects, luxury dorms, and Olympic-quality training facilities, all frankly BS that has little to do with actual education. At the same time, that itself has been watered down with lots of goofy “invent your own major” electives and a weak “core” devoid of the serious academics that used to define a university education. And let’s not even get into the safe space cancel culture where any alternate thought is shouted down. Forget it. A lot of them deserve to fail frankly. Many people would ultimately be better off saving their coin.
I’m incredibly sad that a college education has become completely career focused. Education for the sake of learning, for the sake of being a better person is not encouraged any more.
Trade school renaissance! <3
Ivory Tower, meet Real World.
Higher Ed has been heading for this cliff for a while. Many people think the student loan "bubble" is the next financial bubble to burst. With courses being offered virtually, but universities still wanting students to be living and eating on campus, the students are realizing what a bad deal they are getting 🙁
This is good news! The price of college is outrageous and reform is much needed. We also need people to stop going to college just because it is what is expected.
When you look at the schools that have closed in recent years or are expected to close soon, it's clear that those closing are largely schools that may not have had any business taking students' money in the first place. They're tiny, no-name or very low-ranking (or unranked) colleges, and it's true that those places aren't worth your money or time. Meanwhile, most well-established, well-regarded schools are still doing okay. And a degree from one of those schools is still worth the money, in my opinion. But that was always the case. www.educationdive.com/news/how-many-colleges-and-universities-have-closed-since-2016/539379/
Do other countries have the same outrageous Tuition rates as the US? I graduated from a Canadian university with an engineering degree in 1998. The yearly tuition at that same institution had only increased slightly since my graduation date. The tuition rates for this Canadian university are less than most community colleges here in the US.
I’m not surprised. I took a 13 year break between finishing my degree and tuition and fees more than tripled while wages stayed stagnant. It’s just too expensive for many people in an economy where it doesn’t pay off much. Then if you graduate you still need 5+ years experience for an entry low wage position.
We no longer found it cost effective to attend college for continued education. Trade schools or military are much better options. Especially going to College without a defined career in mind. The costs are too prohibitive and to expect people to carry the student loans required was a no starter.
When we lack a vocabulary for defending a liberal arts education, is this any surprise? When we think EVERYONE needs the SAME kind of education, is this any surprise?
Yet their endowments are 10s of millions. Government is not the answer. It has been the biggest pains on universities since the 60s.
College is too expensive for most students, and GenZ kids are learning from Millenials who are crippled with student loan debt. My high school senior is going into the trades. He plans to own his own construction business one day, and has a reasonable map to get there that does not involve college.
A large student loan yoke and iffy job prospects does add a heavy wet blanket to college enthusiasm
Right now the biggest demand in the workforce is in the skilled trades! We need students going to trade schools!!!!
I agree with the comments that it needs to “burst”... I am sorry for the lives impacted. I was the first person in my family to go to college- it seemed like a fine choice. No one was sounding a warning cry then. If you wanted to succeed- you went to college. The debt would be worth it said every single voice I heard. It was my choice. It is my debt. But continuing the system how it is, is not ok. It’s not ok that not a single other person told us not to bet on the future. My kids now know- we do not take bets on the future. I and my husband are still paying the cost of this lesson.
Colleges brought this on themselves. Personally, I think it's a good thing that this is happening because it is just ridiculous to spend that much money for a degree that barely even gets you considered for crappy entry-level jobs. And who wants to go into that kind of debt now when it's all online and you can find alot of the same material for free? It's very simple business - you overprice your lousy product and you lose your customers.
The university my husband and I went to and my mother before me closed at the end of spring semester. Announced in mid-February. It was a huge shock then. At this point it just feels like 2020.
My kids are 21, 18, 17, and 14. I homeschooled them through 8th grade at least; some did a year of high school at home. ALL had excellent grades and ACT scores. They traveled to do charity work, did volunteer work in our city, excelled at a chosen pursuit or sometimes two, and got leadership awards in high school. My husband is a public school teacher and I’m a stay at home mom. We are barely comfortable, financially. In my day, their resume and our income would have been a full ride to some college somewhere. When I first started homeschooling, that still was the case. It’s changed just in that amount of time, and we are strapped. We’re asking ourselves if it’s worth it to burden our kids with $40-80,000 of debt just as they are starting out in life in these uncertain times. It breaks my heart. I highly value a liberal arts education. I have many generations of liberal arts educated family behind me. But maybe the world has changed and that legacy will break in their generation.
Admissions and Financial Aid have been the bulk of my husband’s career, although his is concentrated in music. It is certain more complex than most people know.
Yet my kids’ private colleges have had record numbers of students.
Back to “Socrates in a tent” for a couple of years, then active job/career prep.
If your prospect of coming out from a four year college is a useless degree and a ton of debt, no wonder enrollment is falling.
