Dive Brief:
- More states are moving to merge and close small and underperforming campuses, and private institutions reported more available seats in last year’s class, according to the Huffington Post.
- Private colleges and universities are concerned about the effect that free tuition at public institutions will have on their enrollment numbers. Moody’s recently upgraded higher ed’s outlook from negative to stable, but it still suggests that higher ed’s recovery in the aftermath of the Great Recession has been lethargic.
- The increased turmoil affecting public and private colleges and universities may spark a period of transformation and renewal, as schools are no longer able to rely on the certainty of state and federal funding. Schools may also have to consider transcending the stringent differentiations between a ‘public’ and ‘private’ institution.
Dive Insight:
With postsecondary education conventionally viewed as an essential stepping stone for further career development, the challenge for college leaders becomes working to ensure more are not left behind (and how the institutions themselves do not succumb to a lack of business) when the current model cannot sustain itself.
The increased attention on apprenticeships and vocational training may provide an opportunity for four-year institutions to break the traditional model and unbundle degree programs to provide greater value to more students. Though the initial investment to start such programs can be significant, in the long run it can pale in comparison to the costs of fully continuing a four-year program unsupported by its own enrollment numbers. President Donald Trump is interested in pursuing more apprenticeship and vocational education opportunities, and career and technical education tends to draw bipartisan support among lawmakers. As colleges and universities find state and federal funding to be unreliable in the long term, those same lawmakers may be more open to proposals or funding limited to initiatives in these categories, freeing funding for maintenance and staff salaries.