9 ways coronavirus could reshape American higher education – The Week
Most colleges and universities have closed their campuses for the rest of the semester, with milestones like graduation ceremonies canceled and classes moved online.
But the 2019-2020 school year was already three-quarters finished when the United States’ response to the novel coronavirus began in earnest. The bigger question now: What happens next year and in years to come?
We’ve been wondering if higher education is due for an overhaul for some time now — whether that be the right’s notion of bursting the college bubble or the left’s push for sweeping student debt relief. The novel coronavirus pandemic could be the event that fundamentally reshapes American higher education. Here are nine plausible shifts.
1. Colleges close and consolidate. Some schools have already permanently closed their doors or suspended admissions because of the pandemic. So far, these are small colleges with pre-existing financial woes. But other schools are likely to follow in their footsteps as economic pressures grow. Less funding for financial aid will mean fewer enrollments, which in turn will mean less tuition income. Some schools may be able to live on via a merger with another nearby university, selling unneeded assets and sharing newly limited resources.