This is Viewpoints Explained…
A college can welcome a new freshman class, raise tuition and cut faculty jobs all at the same time. This year, that contradiction is showing up on college campuses across the U.S. Earlier this summer, the University Of Minnesota approved a budget that eliminated two hundred and thirty teaching jobs. It also raised the price of undergraduate tuition by almost four percent. In Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University cut more than a hundred positions after losing federal research funding.
And these budget reductions are also hitting tech-focused universities too. In Chicago, the Illinois Institute Of Technology – known for its engineering, computing and science programs – recently laid off about a hundred and sixty faculty and staff members. The school is dealing with research cuts, fewer international students and a broader enrollment decline and is trying to trim costs to ensure its long-term financial health. Interestingly, international students made up 40 percent of IITS enrollment last year.
Zooming out, college enrollment isn’t falling everywhere. National enrollment actually grew slightly this past spring, but the gains were uneven. Master’s programs shrank, international graduate enrollment fell and many small, private universities saw little to no growth.
In the long-term, colleges are also dealing with a shrinking pipeline of traditional students. The federal reserve reports that the share of high school graduates headed straight to college has dropped from to 70 to 62 percent over the last decade. For those who do choose to get a degree, this could mean fewer majors, more limited class offerings or having to transfer if their school closes.
In a tough economy and fast-changing labor market, more colleges will have to get creative in order to stay relevant.
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