In just the last 18 months, Massachusetts has seen the closure of small private liberal arts colleges Mount Ida and Newbury Colleges. The pressures on these types of institutions include technological disruption, changing student demands, and ever-escalating costs. To address this, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (BHE) and Department…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine factors related to enrollment in higher education during the 2008-2009 economic downturn. The study focused on small private colleges and universities without historic prestige, schools that are non-selective and dependent on enrollment tuition. When viewing student enrollment through a…

Serving on the board of any nonprofit organization has taken on added significance in recent years. There is greater accountability for trustees and for the overall mission and effectiveness of the organizations that they have the ultimate fiduciary responsibility to maintain. The changes have challenged not only the personal commitment that board…

When college officials across the country talk about their final tally of Fall 2012 enrollment, the discussions produce assessments that are all over the map. Some institutions, like Hampton University, are pleased to see their enrollment declining. Others, like Florida A&M University, are wondering how they are going to make up for revenue…

The purpose of this study was to examine policy issues from the unique viewpoint of state offices that are responsible for the supervision of community colleges and their role in developing the workforce. Using selected survey items from the 2012 Survey of Access and Finance conducted by the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama, 50…

As Americans look for ways to reboot their careers, the value and contributions of the nation's community and technical colleges cannot be oversold. A wave of unprecedented support--from the press, the public, even the White House--has shone a light on the benefits of an affordable, quality community college education. Despite unprecedented…

Big isn't as big as it used to be for many of the largest school districts. The most recent enrollment numbers for the nation's biggest school districts seem to reflect the country's ailing economy. Forty-eight of the 100 largest public school systems in the United States in 2008-09 reported enrollment declines compared with the previous year's…

Enrollments are up across the board--a good sign for any college, particularly one that's only recently opened its doors--but enthusiasm is tempered by the reality of an impending budget crisis. Like most colleges, the situation is compounded by political pressure to increase the nation's graduation rate. Not that graduating students hasn't always…

The focus of the study was to examine the impact of the recession on (1) community college funding, (2) community college student support services, and (3) on student enrollment. This study relied on data from document analysis and interview of community college personnel and students. The current crisis has resulted in a steep budget reduction to…

Universities are organized to assume uninterrupted growth in enrollments and endowments, steady public funding, an annual ability to inflict tuition hikes on students and their families, everlasting degree programs, vast building operations and permanent commitments to a senior professoriate. Lacking an agile and responsive governance structure,…

As the economic recession continues to threaten state funding, federal support and financial aid allocations, colleges and universities increasingly rely on student enrollment and tuition as a revenue source. This article, examines how universities respond to this challenge, particularly in the areas of student recruitment and admission. These…

Universities around the world have been affected by the recent global economic crisis. Many are challenged by reduced resources, yet they also face greater demands to help spur recovery in their respective countries. This paper explores how colleges and universities in the United States were affected by, and subsequently responded to, several 20th…

This article reports that as students flock to public two-year and four-year colleges amid an ailing economy, they find the colleges struggling with financial problems of their own. Midyear budget cuts are forcing many institutions to lay off faculty members, cut course sections, and freeze enrollment. Rising unemployment, slumping values of…