Death & Resurrection in Higher Education
By Drew Tucker
The higher education industry is built for a world that no longer exists. The financial model for most institutions depends on the net revenue of tuition, fees, housing, and dining. The rise in the percentage of commuter students, as well as the increased amount of tuition discounting at most schools, means that there’s less net revenue per student. Combine that with a decrease in the number of high school graduates and a reduction in a number of students enrolled in collegiate courses, and it’s a devastating cocktail. The number of collegiate closures continues to climb, as do institutional mergers and partnerships meant to reduce costs. From New York to California, failed mergers or acquisitions lead to institutional demise.
Those that manage to stay open and independent are cutting costs in a variety of ways. The model of consistent revenue from a constantly growing number of potential students was dying long before a global pandemic visited its wrath upon the industry. COVID-19 simply fast-forwarded the process.
Most problematic is that, all too often, the people who bear the consequences of such volatility are the most vulnerable. For instance, cuts to retirement are likely to most profoundly impact the lowest earners and youngest employees, who will need to work more years for less benefit. Further, while tenure is a vital tool to preserve free inquiry and protect scholars from oppression or punishment for the pursuit of truth and justice, it also most often protects higher earners from position eliminations, meaning that staff–who are already lower paid–are much more likely to lose their jobs…
Drew Tucker (he/him)