OCTOBER 2, 2024 | written by STEVE ULRICH

News and notes on the largest and best Division in the NCAA. #whyD3
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TOP STORY
1. Is Your College About To Close?

by Robert Kelchen, Chronicle of Higher Education

“It is no secret that much of the American higher-education system is facing considerable financial challenges. Fewer high-school graduates and older students are enrolling in college, operating costs are rising faster than tuition revenue, and students are increasingly drawn to a small number of flagship public universities and wealthy private colleges. This leaves the vast majority of colleges fighting over a dwindling pool of potential students who generate less revenue.

Closures do not tell the full story. The same financial challenges that cause closures have broader implications across higher education. Nonprofit colleges are typically driven by a mission to serve their communities, and they will do nearly anything in order to continue operating in spite of challenging circumstances. Driven in part by consultants and media that reaches governing-board members, a growing number of institutions are seeking to cut programs or even declare financial exigency in an effort to address current or anticipated financial risk.

As a scholar of higher-education finance who has done research on college closures and financial distress, I am regularly asked about potential warning signs. Here are the metrics I recommend examining to get a sense of a college’s overall position.”

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