Study Finds 80 Colleges Could Close in the Next Five Years
“a decline in the share of high school graduates going to college, and a decline in older student enrollment due to a solid economy”
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was many more than that. The higher ed apocalypse has been building up for years now.
The College Fix reports:
80 colleges could close in next 5 years: Federal Reserve study
Up to 80 colleges may close in the next five years, according to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
This estimate comes as 28 colleges shut down last year, according to data from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Over the past eight years, more than 100 colleges have shut down, as reported by The College Fix.
The authors of this study call the trend “a major higher education policy issue.” One of the researchers provided further comment to The Fix via email.
Robert Kelchen, a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Consumer Finance Institute, described “three main drivers” contributing to the “declining enrollment.”
These three factors are “a decline in the number of high school graduates in much of the country, a decline in the share of high school graduates going to college, and a decline in older student enrollment due to a solid economy.”
“Not much can be done about the first factor, as it’s a math problem that colleges cannot solve,” Kelchen told The Fix via email.
“The second is something that may change in the future when we get the next recession, but there is more skepticism about the value of higher education than in the past,” he said. “And the third is largely due to the ability to get decent jobs now without college, which typically changes during recessions.”
The model has already been tested and found to be largely successful.
The analysis selected “100 institutions with the highest predicted probability of closure,” based on factors such as enrollment declines, high tuition discounts, and shrinking endowments, among others, according to the report.
These included declining enrollment, weak finances that have triggered federal oversight, demographic shifts, and an overreliance on tuition revenue. Researchers found 84 of these 100 institutions had closed within three years.
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Comments
I’m reminded of the scene in a movie whose name I don’t recall where the deliberate perennial student (Elliott Gould?), who purposefully avoids taking any course that would complete the requirements for any one degree that would result in his actual graduation, accidentally completes a set.
It’s time for colleges to earn their BS (FAFO).
My error. I conflated the Elliot Gould character from “Getting Straight” with the main character from Roger Zelazny’s Doorways in The Sand.
My memory is degrading, but luckily the parity correction bits still work.
I think it will be higher … and the
protests are not helping …
they may have to start dipping into
endowments ….
they may have to start dipping into endowments ….
The colleges that will be closing have small endowments, leaving them with no financial cushion.
For some reason my mind read 80% and I really didn’t have a problem with that.
Only 80? Oh well, its a decent start.
What’s not mentioned is that the rate of enrollment for men is down more than 70%. Universities preaching about toxic masculinity and patriarchy in nearly all classes has led to millions of GI Bill dollars left on the table. This shows that the administration of nearly all universities have no interest in operating their institutions like a business and no interest in accountability. They will support the leftist cause until the end.
There will also be many colleges that perhaps don’t close, but that significantly modify their offerings. Niche and boutique majors and fields of study are already disappearing at public second-tier schools, and there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
I’d be more concerned about college closures were it not for the fact that 8th grade students in 1912 generally had a better grip on math, history, English, geography, etc. than many college kids today.