In the face of shrinking enrollment and a $45 million budget deficit, West Virginia University (WVU) has made the responsible decision to cut many low-productivity programs across the institution. Its … Continue reading “Smart Cuts at West Virginia University”
The California State University System is implementing a plan that will encourage universities to hit enrollment targets, but at great cost. In January, Cal State leaders announced the blueprints for … Continue reading “Will State University Systems Punish Underperforming Schools?”
Community colleges were not doing too well in terms of enrollment before the pandemic; since then, things have gotten only worse, a few bright lights here and there notwithstanding. The … Continue reading “How Community Colleges Can Avoid the “Cliff””
Intelligent observers of American higher education know that colleges generally are in great trouble: falling enrollments, declining public and political support, often dubious outcomes, and excessive tuition and other costs. … Continue reading “A Collegiate Renaissance?”
In an earlier millennium, yours truly undertook graduate studies in history and persisted a couple of years before getting cold feet. Some new PhDs could not find academic positions; some … Continue reading “Are English Departments Really Dying?”
On April 3, the North Carolina House approved a proposed biennial budget, House Bill 259, which the Senate is now considering. The plan provides generous raises for state employees while … Continue reading “Reading the N.C. Higher-Ed Budget”
The evidence is everywhere: American colleges and universities are dying. Not all will die very soon—indeed, probably only a modest portion will. But the trend is unmistakably downward. Why? Is … Continue reading “American Colleges Are Committing Suicide”
Nationwide, undergraduate college enrollment has been falling since 2010. The trend is being driven both by a shrinking pool of high-school graduates and those graduates choosing to attend universities at … Continue reading “How the UNC System is Propping Up Enrollment”
Enrollment declines have finally come to North Carolina. In the past decade, universities across the country began to see declining undergraduate enrollments, first in the Northeast and the Midwest, then … Continue reading “Is UNC Playing Selectivity Games?”
There is considerable talk these days about the enrollment crash in higher education, especially in liberal-arts education. The Chronicle of Higher Education has been expressing worry about this crisis for … Continue reading “Colleges Helped Cause the Enrollment Crash”