Vision of and for the Future

The Looming Enrollment Crisis by Eric Kelderman and Lee Gardner
The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 1, 2019

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‍The Looming Enrollment Crisis outlines the existential challenges faced by all levels of higher education. Though aimed at a post-secondary school audience, the demographic, financial, and programmatic challenges faced by higher education is absolutely relevant to independent school leaders and faculty. In fact, the demographic crisis that colleges anticipate in 2025 has already hit many independent schools across the country. The report is highly useful in that it provides granular detail about where the demographic rates of decline are geographically most dramatic (among others, the Northeast and Midwest) and what kinds of population birth rates are declining most precipitously (white and college educated). The report also includes deep dives into the various strategies used by enrollment managers (tuition discounting, lowering or freezing tuition across the board, targeting new markets, among other endeavors). Finally, there are ten case studies that outline examples of dramatic leadership on the part of college presidents to completely revamp or re-envision programmatic offerings. These leaders embody a growth mindset, and they are listening carefully to what students, parents, and business leaders are demanding in terms of what “work readiness” might mean, all without losing their focus on the liberal arts. Independent school leaders will not only glean lessons for their own schools from this report, but they will also educate themselves about the new landscape their students are entering as they choose among myriad undergraduate options.