The Future of Colleges & Universities

There is a lot of online content these days on the future of private and public universities, so I thought I would share a few words, resources, and how a student or parent might make heads or tails of it all.

Instead of opining about the future of secondary education, let’s use data wisely and apply the data to different school types. Nationally, there are about 4000 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities. We diversify our bucket list of 350+ quality schools based on type so that parents and students can consider high-quality schools based on each student’s academic index, critical college criteria, and financial parameters.

College Placement Consulting’s “Bucket List” of 350 + Quality Schools

• State Flagship Universities – 15%

• State Non-Flagship Universities – 15%

• Highly Selective Private Colleges – 25%

• Moderately Sized Private Colleges – 10%

• Traditional Private Colleges – 35%

This Chronicle of Higher Education survey suggests that as many as one in six high school seniors are re-thinking attending college this fall. Schools are reassessing fall online learning or altered schedules. Schools will need resources to adjust or consider options such as consolidation or sale.

Questions To Ask To Consider A School’s Long Haul Value Proposition

• What percentage of online learning currently occurs at the school? Check out school information from the National Center of Education Statistics – look under enrollment.

• Does the school rely heavily on international students who may not return? You can also find this information from the National Center of Education Statistics.

• What is the school’s endowment? Will the school have resources to invest in new learning models, particularly if enrollment declines? You can review the NACUBO-TIAA study of endowments here. The median 2018 value per full time enrolled student hovered around $40,000. Less than 5% of the private schools on our bucket list had endowments below the median.

• Is the school showing signs of liquidity by offering refunds, freezing tuition, and discounting summer online courses to students?

• Is the school freezing or cutting salaries as a proactive measure?

• If the school is a public university, what has historical data shown for the state’s full student enrollment in the past? Was diminishing full-time student enrollment a factor before COVID19? How many flagship and non-flagship schools does the state support? Could a non-flagship school be in jeopardy due to lower endowments, stretched resources, declining enrollment?

• What is the school’s financial strength before COVID19? Check out Forbes 2019 study.

Questions? Schedule a no-obligation chat with us.