Last week, Smith’s Higher Ed series started with demographic trends suggesting lower birth rates and fewer children matriculating through grades K-12 have raised concerns about the viability of many higher education institutions. At least 49–81 U.S. colleges and universities have closed, merged, or announced closures/mergers since the 2019–20 academic year, based on the most reliable aggregated data available. Most notably, traditional liberal arts colleges and institutions appear to be vulnerable. While the sorting-out process will likely continue to unfold in the coming years, we think it is worthwhile to identify the traits that can help to delineate which colleges and universities will be better positioned to succeed in a highly competitive operating environment.
First, getting back to basics is the starting point of the analytical process. Are the institutions’ missions to better educate students to be more informed? Or, are their missions to prepare them for professional careers? Read more…
