For years, demographers have warned that higher education faced a projected decline later this decade in the number of Americans projected to graduate from high school, shrinking student cohorts in ways that could threaten colleges’ financial viability. The pandemic and the ensuing recession have resulted in roughly a million fewer students enrolling in college in 2021 than in 2019, raising concerns about college access and equity and straining institutional budgets.
In this on-demand webinar, Carleton College’s Nathan D. Grawe, author of The Agile College and Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education, analyze how these developments are likely to affect postsecondary enrollments and, in turn, the mid- and long term financial outlook for colleges and universities. Grawe and Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed’s editor, also discuss how institutional leaders can respond and adapt to ensure their sustainability and serve students.