Too Important To Fail, Too Big to Be Complacent: An Analysis of Higher Education Market Risks and Stressors
Current market trends in higher education show that troubled institutions have been plagued by declines in enrollment, increased market prices, and poor retention rates. Yet less than 10 percent of just over 2,300 institutions nationwide are in serious risk of closing or merging, according to a new analysis of eight years data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).
However, in
Too Important to Fail, Too Big to Be Complacent: An Analysis of Higher Education Market Risks and Stressors, co-authors Robert Zemsky, professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania, and Philip Rogers, senior vice president at ACE, find that institutions that are struggling, but not in immediate danger of closing, also face challenges. The brief also outlines strategic options for colleges and universities, and encourages a national conversation focused on affirming and strengthening higher education's value proposition.
The brief was produced with support of the TIAA Institute, as part of a collaboration between ACE and the TIAA Institute designed to surface and evaluate the implications of economic trends for college and university sustainability.