Last week Moody’s Investor Services issued its 2016 outlook for American colleges and universities. The takeaways were: stability and modest growth. Moody’ suggested that tuition revenue growth is expected to be between 2 and 3 percent for public and private universities, with a 3 percent increase in revenue overall. On the public side, state revenue…
Last week the Chronicle of Higher Education reported on the fundraising achievements of the top ten public and private colleges and universities in America The results are sobering and instructive. The top recipients of private donations are all major research universities with clear global brands, comprehensive university-sized scale, and well-established giving networks. Harvard University topped…
In recent years there has been growing concentration on how best to improve the transfer process for two-year students seeking a four-year degree. We know that while more than eighty percent of first-year community college students surveyed indicate that they are working toward a four-year degree; fewer than fifteen percent will achieve this goal. With…
Last week, Inside Higher Education published its 2015 Survey of College and University Admission Directors. Planned to coincide with the annual meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling held in San Diego, IHE drew responses from 264 admission directors, taken from a mix of public and private colleges and universities. The respondents replied…
There is often a debate on American college campuses about the role of the university as a catalyst in the economic development of its region. Some argue persuasively that the university is an educational institution and should not be expected to divert its resources to build the local economy. Others also make the case that…
Earlier this month, Adam Davidson wrote a fascinating yet deeply troubling piece in the New York Times titled: “Is College Tuition Really Too High?” Davidson explores the relationship between the student and the aid offered to the student by the college or university in which the student enrolls. He concludes, “Our system gives three times…
One of the most glaring weaknesses in American higher education is the strength of its governance group. There is a celebrated tradition within higher education to portray governance as a kind of three-leg stool. Led by the president as CEO, the administration manages the operation, works with the faculty, and reports to the Board of…
The decision by Moody’s Investors Service to upgrade its outlook for higher education from “negative” to “stable” was good news for higher education. This is Moody’s first outlook upgrade in more than two years. Eva Bogaty, who authored the Moody’s report, noted that “our outlook revision to stable reflects our view that aggregate operating revenue…
Jointly sponsored by Inside Higher Education and Gallup for the past five years, this survey offers insight into the challenges facing college and university presidents, whether public or private. It also seeks their perspectives on a wide range of “hot button” education issues. To determine their findings, Gallup administered 647 web surveys from college presidents,…
Recently, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce released some findings about what new graduates could expect to earn. The results are interesting and may well speak to where the workforce will head if left to market forces. Georgetown’s researchers found that the lifetime earnings difference between high school and college graduates was…