The Great Recession Was Bad for Higher Education. Coronavirus Could Be Worse. – The Chronicle of Higher Education
This article is part of a series on the financial challenges facing colleges and universities amid the coronavirus pandemic and the need for proactive strategies. Please join a virtual discussion Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern time to hear from experts about what colleges learned from the Great Recession and how those insights will inform decisions today.
There is no doubt we are in one of the most turbulent and challenging times in American, and world, history. The coronavirus is dramatically changing everything: Our personal lives, economic markets, and, of course, higher-education institutions are being transformed before our eyes. While this crisis is disruptive, I know that our country will not only survive but also thrive in the long run.
This moment represents an opportunity for our colleges and universities, long viewed as global leaders, to make significant changes to their economic and academic models to handle the new financial realities. We will have no choice but to make serious changes, given the potential impact to the more than 5,000 colleges and universities across the country. For example, how would universities adjust their budgets if they were to lose 25 to 50 percent of their revenue in 2021 and still deliver high-quality education?