Is The Higher Education Bubble About to Deflate, Or Worse, Burst?

It looks like the so-called Higher Education bubble has started deflating. That’s not surprising now that colleges are having increasing problems making ends meet. The seas of cash that became available as student loan programs expanded had colleges expanding their curricula, their campuses, and their student populations. But that can only go on for so long, and as the Instaprof has said more than once, “That which can’t go on forever, won’t.” At least one university is finding that out the hard way.

[West Virginia University] announced in July that 128 programs would be reviewed for possible discontinuance or reduction. The decisions regarding which programs to discontinue were based on student enrollment trends, enrollment in majors and departments, and department-level metrics including full-time faculty-to-student ratio and programs’ financial status. . . . The university has already cut staff and raised tuition almost 3% in an effort to make up its budget deficit. University leaders have also pointed to a recent price hike in state health insurance premiums as a reason behind the financial crisis. WVU has received less funding from the state legislature, too.

Of the 32 programs dropped so far, they average 13 students each. Others are expected to be dropped going forward. The university has stated that at this point “147 undergraduate and 287 graduate students will be affected by the upcoming reductions.” As more programs are dropped more students will be affected.

How many other colleges and universities are in the same boat? How many of the ‘woke’ colleges are in similar straits? Are STEM focused institutions seeing the same problem?

Another question that needs to be answered is how many potential college students are taking a look at the cost of tuition, the actual cost of student loans, and making the decision the cost is too high, particularly for majors that won’t really help them get jobs? Add in that some student loans will total as much as a home mortgage by the time the student graduates and suddenly that college degree doesn’t look as attractive. Certainly the number of male students has been dropping compared to the number of female students, with some of those men going into the trades. It can’t be denied that many of the trades pay as much, if not more than many of the ‘professions’. They also don’t cost anywhere near what it costs to get a college degree. It also helps that demand for tradesmen is high and has been for some time, particularly now that many tradesmen are aging out and retiring.

It’s going to be interesting times for our institutions of higher learning.