Survey of Higher Education Business Officers Shows Drop in Confidence in Financial Stability – NASFAA
For the first time in the history of Inside Higher Ed’s survey on the matter, chief business officers’ confidence in the financial stability of their institutions over the next five years dropped below 55% and was eclipsed by their confidence in the next 10 years, according to a new survey.
The shift is likely due to the bleak economic outlook higher education across the board is currently facing in the relative short-term, though there is more optimism about the long-term prospects, Doug Lederman, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Inside Higher Ed, said during a virtual presentation of the survey findings.
“This year’s survey is rewritten almost entirely, given the unprecedented nature of this moment,” Lederman said Tuesday, noting that the survey was conducted in June, with responses from 273 business officers. “It is pretty wholly focused on COVID and on the recession it has fueled.”
Notably, only 52% of respondents expressing confidence in the financial stability of their institutions over the next five years is a 10% drop from the previous year, and the year-over-year drop was particularly significant among business officers at community colleges and private non-profit doctoral and masters institutions.