Small mid-tier private schools tend to have modest endowments, and after decades of tuition hikes comparable to those of their elite peers, they are now at high risk of pricing themselves out of the market. The fiscal crisis of small private colleges will play out differently across the nation. States vary in their demographic projections and the…

Between the 2008-09 and 2016-17 school years, over 300 degree-granting higher education institutions in the United States have closed their doors. An overwhelming majority of these recently closed institutions are for-profit colleges, which often serve a population of disproportionately low-income students receiving Pell Grants and federal loans.…

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…

Scholarship in composition and rhetoric has certainly addressed issues of African American economic inequality (Gilyard) and institutional austerity (Welch and Scott), yet the field has failed to address how both are united in the site of the contemporary HBCU. In particular, composition scholars have not explored how the shifts of the new economy…

In this article, the author presents his thoughts, as a teacher activist, on the school closing process in Philadelphia, particularly the effect of the closing process on Beeber Middle School and its response to the closing. The District's Facilities Master Plan originally called for closing 37 schools, Some schools were removed from the closing…

When officials at tuition-driven Fisk University raised the veil of secrecy a few years ago surrounding the university's financial condition, the details they laid out were less than encouraging. The Nashville-based university, home of the historic Jubilee Singers, was losing several million dollars a year and had not received any major private…

Nationally, state funding to higher education has significantly decreased. Ironically, the trend of state divestment in higher education coincides with federal and state policies geared toward increasing degree completion rates. Through an analysis of qualitative data gathered at California higher education institutions, this paper highlights how…

In January 2007, the author wrote an article titled "Prevent a Disaster in Your Library: Advertise." In 2011, with the ongoing economic crisis that has caused so many school budget cuts, it is clear that advertising is no longer enough to save school librarians' positions. Librarians need to become even more aggressive as they market their…

Times are very tough. The great majority of colleges are looking at 2009 and 2010 and beyond, in anticipation of the deepest budget cuts in more than a generation. But as bad as the financial situation may be, colleges can survive if they take swift and strong emergency action. It is time for some straight talk, starting with the realization that…

Certain higher-education institutions are at risk in 2007 and beyond, according to Moody's Investors Service, which gauges colleges' financial health. They include small private colleges with limited geographic draw, colleges with ambitious spending plans to improve their national reputations, and regional public universities that face heavy…

Describes how Morris Brown College in Atlanta exemplifies the financial plight of many small, historically black institutions. (EV)

Describes how Roxbury Community College in Massachusetts is roiled by financial troubles and the threat of a state takeover in the wake of its president's departure. (EV)

The 27 institutions damaged by hurricanes Katrina or Rita--there were 14 in Mississippi, 12 in Louisiana and one in Alabama--estimate their combined physical damages at $1.4 billion. But rather than providing aid, the Louisiana Legislature was forced to call for $77 million in cuts in November, leading to a wrenching gut-check on many campuses.…

Discusses ways to overcome the financial crisis facing many universities in developing countries, including providing greater resources to higher education; raising tuition; privatizing higher education; admitting only the best candidates; attracting foreign students; requiring graduates' employers to compensate universities; linking industry and…

Describes how Bennett College, an historically black women's institution, is trying to regroup after its latest president lasted only seven months. (EV)