Dive Brief:
- The number of colleges and universities eligible to offer financial aid rewards to students fell in the previous school year by 5.6%, according to a new report from the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, analyzed by Inside Higher Ed.
- A large portion of the drop was accounted for by numerous closures of for-profit institutions, which have faced increased oversight in recent years. The number of for-profit schools dropped 20% drop since 2012-2013.
- However, public colleges are also decreasing in numbers, which could be attributed to aggressive merger plans in states like Georgia. The number of private non-profit colleges and universities fell 1.7%, from 1,909 to 1,876 in the past year.
Dive Insight:
In 2015, Moody's predicted the number of closures would triple by 2017, citing the failure of many institutions to diversify revenue streams and increase dollars coming in. When you add to that the decimation of for-profit colleges — last year, the federal government stripped the largest accreditor of for-profit institutions in the country of its accrediting power. And tightening state budgets have led many to consider system consolidations via merger as a cost-savings measure.
Higher ed leaders are beginning to look for alternative revenue streams, including paying more attention to student populations which they may have previously ignored. As more colleges and universities institute programs and services that may be of interest to student populations who previously were gravitating towards for-profit institutions, administrators must ensure they have proper outreach, including necessary investments in social media marketing.