Higher education presidents: Embark on the journey to assess and stabilize your institution’s financial health 

Financial weakness is growing among U.S. universities and colleges. The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help. It came fast on the heels of protracted enrollment decline occasioned by demographic shifts, relative drop in public investment and college affordability concerns. Pandemic relief funds offered palliative care but are exhausted.  

More recent events have compounded the problem as higher education is swept up into the maw of highly divisive political discourse fueling skepticism that had already been growing among the American public about the value – and the values of – U.S. higher education. Further, administrative actions in Washington D.C., have extended financial uncertainty to selective and research-intensive institutions that until now had enjoyed a modicum of protection from it. 

I have a deeper concern, and it is that university and college presidents and their teams can be slow to act even as they realize their institution may be severely struggling. I understand the reticence. Corrective actions are hard, can elicit pushback from stakeholders inexperienced with making difficult trade-off decisions and will require courage.  

At the same time, corrective actions are necessary and must be taken before an institution finds itself in duress. The U.S. higher education landscape is increasingly cluttered with broken and closed institutions that left their responses too late. They went too long with strategies of hope – for a strong fall enrollment, a successful fundraising campaign and, in the public sector, a healthy increase in state appropriations.  

We know from experience that if institutions are going to adjust their education or business models to sustain and thrive, they must take preventative actions when leading indicators signal extensive financial decline ahead. They must get in upstream when they still have time; when they still have money in the bank. Change takes time in higher education, and it will also require investment. 

Evaluating your institution’s financial health  

There’s good news. We know what indicators to look for from institutions that have failed and from those that have turned themselves around.  

This free financial health assessment is built on those indicators. It is a simple diagnostic intended for university and college presidents. It includes 27 questions about the performance of functions that contribute directly to your organization’s financial wellbeing. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and provides a brief report identifying areas leaders might consider investigating further. These areas include enrollment, student success, academic programs, business and administrative operations, asset and risk management, strategy effectiveness, data and technology, board governance and talent development.