Is anywhere safe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine there's a university in the country that's not instituting hiring freezes and budget cuts to degrees relative to their endowment--whether they're being public about that is another question. The hits to research funding from the current administration affect small colleges and big universities alike, and graduate school acceptances (where universities have come to rely on tuition money) are down.

With a kid entering as a first-year student next year, I just have to trust that schools with existing strength and standing will come through this time. But I think we'll be seeing lots more of the "do more with less" mantra being bandied about within universities (I guess you can tell by now I work for one) that translates into fewer support staff positions to allow departments to do the work of teaching and fewer tenure track positions and more adjunct positions or courses taught by grad students (who can be wonderful! but also they are often stretched thinner than thin).

SEC schools are investing in massive capital improvements. Very healthy budgets from sports, donors, good management. Some pressure on research (I believe most are R1), but that may be different than budgets.

All of these flagships are very dependent on research and Medicaid money, just as Mich if not more than the private R1s, Alabama and Florida in particular.

It isn't just that. If the economy slows, state tax revenue slows and appropriations will be reduced.

[Anonymous]

Look at the staggering growth in non-instructional staff over the last 30 years when the enrollments at most privates has been intentionally capped. Incredible that non teaching staff is bloated. Long overdue for better fiscal management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beyond financial aspects, applications to Middlebury have dropped to a five-year low:

https://www.middleburycampus.com/article/2025/05/applications-drop-to-five-year-low-as-acceptance-rate-increases

44% accepted were test optional, wow!

Isn't that about the same as a lot of other schools that are considered selective?

Based on its current CDS, 54% of Middlebury's attending students did not submit standardized test scores.

Per the latest CDS, 39% of Amherst students submitted SAT scores. No one is making a stink about that.

This contrasts fairly sharply with the 28% of attending students who did at Middlebury.

[Anonymous]

Are Hamilton, Colby or Borodin have these type of financial issues? I’ve heard murmurs about Bates which given their endowment isn’t surprising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine there's a university in the country that's not instituting hiring freezes and budget cuts to degrees relative to their endowment--whether they're being public about that is another question. The hits to research funding from the current administration affect small colleges and big universities alike, and graduate school acceptances (where universities have come to rely on tuition money) are down.

With a kid entering as a first-year student next year, I just have to trust that schools with existing strength and standing will come through this time. But I think we'll be seeing lots more of the "do more with less" mantra being bandied about within universities (I guess you can tell by now I work for one) that translates into fewer support staff positions to allow departments to do the work of teaching and fewer tenure track positions and more adjunct positions or courses taught by grad students (who can be wonderful! but also they are often stretched thinner than thin).

SEC schools are investing in massive capital improvements. Very healthy budgets from sports, donors, good management. Some pressure on research (I believe most are R1), but that may be different than budgets.

All of these flagships are very dependent on research and Medicaid money, just as Mich if not more than the private R1s, Alabama and Florida in particular.

You're seeing this in california, michigan. Big budget cuts. I know Michigan State just had an announcement of major budget cuts with Univ of Michigan still just figuring out how much they need to cut. Michigan State has to cut 9% with University of Michigan's cuts even greater. That is a massive cut. One thing being discussed is enrolling substantially more students to pay for it.

It isn't just that. If the economy slows, state tax revenue slows and appropriations will be reduced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is getting their research grants cut. This isn’t just Middlebury. Academia is dying.

What? The literally article says it's because of FIFTEEN YEARS of deficits. "The college attributed the changes to 15 years of consistent deficits, culminating in the unexpectedly high $14.1 million shortfall this fiscal year, a large portion of which is due to lower enrollment at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the staggering growth in non-instructional staff over the last 30 years when the enrollments at most privates has been intentionally capped. Incredible that non teaching staff is bloated. Long overdue for better fiscal management.

Agreed. Too many administrators to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am more concerned about the safety on a campus in the USA for my Jewish child right now.[/

Are you for real? Then feel free to send your child to Israel for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is getting their research grants cut. This isn’t just Middlebury. Academia is dying.

What? The literally article says it's because of FIFTEEN YEARS of deficits. "The college attributed the changes to 15 years of consistent deficits, culminating in the unexpectedly high $14.1 million shortfall this fiscal year, a large portion of which is due to lower enrollment at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

This is one of the challenges for small schools. They are much more dependent on tuition and fees. When enrollment was constantly growing without question it wasn’t an issue. But if we’ve hit a peak, this will become much more challenging going forward.

[Anonymous]

No one is immune. Duke DOGEing itself:

https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2025/04/duke-university-administration-announces-reduction-in-force-voluntary-and-involuntary-seperation-program-cost-cutting-strategic-realignment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one is immune. Duke DOGEing itself:

https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2025/04/duke-university-administration-announces-reduction-in-force-voluntary-and-involuntary-seperation-program-cost-cutting-strategic-realignment

Most top schools are terribly bloated. They spend everything they bring in, so they are overextended. However, they can right size themselves, but it will be painful.

[Anonymous]

When was the last time colleges really tried to cut costs?

There was never ever any pressure for the top 250 universities at least.

[Anonymous]

I'm an academic at an R1. I don't think that there is a college or university in the country that isn't deeply worried about its finances right now. What makes it very complicated is that the threats to higher ed are coming from a variety of places, meaning that each institution's risk profile is different. There's the long-feared demographic cliff on the horizon, and now the Trump administration has deliberately created utter chaos. It's a time of exceptional uncertainty, more so than any I can remember in decades of being in higher ed.

Here are the main (current!) threats, in no particular order:

--Federal grants rescinded because some algorithm decided they were too "woke" or because of incredibly clumsy DOGE cuts. Institutions that do lots of medical and scientific research have been hit especially hard by these cuts. Note that it affects not just the NIH and the NSF, but also things like the USDA, which funds a lot of things at state land-grant schools. Lots of these are in court, but even if institutions win, there's no guarantee that the grants will get reinstated.

--The slash of the indirect cost rate for NIH and NEH grants. Perhaps some of this can be recouped if the rules are rewritten to allow more things as direct costs, but no one knows. In the short-term, it's a huge budget hit for research universities.

--The threat of visa revocations and border detainment for international students. Students have traditionally come from all over the world to do undergraduate and graduate work at US universities. Understandably, many of them are increasingly hesitant. For institutions that depend on international student tuition money, this is potentially a massive financial hit. Higher ed is a major US export, and not just at fancy R1 schools.

--Greatly increased/expanded endowment tax. This affects mostly wealthy universities, but should that happen, it would have a massive effective on operating budgets. Note that some state university systems have huge endowments.

--Loss of tax-exempt status. Still hypothetical, but would be a major financial hit.

--Loss of accreditation. Also hypothetical, but it would mean the loss of eligibility for federal student loan programs--a very big deal.

--General Trump administration animosity of the kind that Harvard is dealing with. Any school that gets into the crosshairs of this administration is in for it. The legal fees alone would break many schools.

--The threat of recession, which affects endowment income and state budget allocations.

--Last, but not least, declining enrollments because of demographic changes. This has been long expected and will likely mean the closure of any number of schools. All the rest of the uncertainty may just hasten that along.

I think it's hard to predict what this will mean for undergrads over the next few years. The cuts to NIH and NEH grants are likely to reduce undergraduate research opportunities in STEM fields. US universities are also in danger of losing international faculty, who may well prefer to work in a country that isn't actively trying to undermine their work. Financial aid will probably take a hit, since that standardly comes out of endowment interest income.

All in all, it's not a great time for higher ed. Mind you, none of this is really aimed at *reforming* institutions. If it were, it would have been done much differently. Alas, the Trump administration's desire to wreak havoc on the nation's research universities will mean that the entire country suffers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine there's a university in the country that's not instituting hiring freezes and budget cuts to degrees relative to their endowment--whether they're being public about that is another question. The hits to research funding from the current administration affect small colleges and big universities alike, and graduate school acceptances (where universities have come to rely on tuition money) are down.

With a kid entering as a first-year student next year, I just have to trust that schools with existing strength and standing will come through this time. But I think we'll be seeing lots more of the "do more with less" mantra being bandied about within universities (I guess you can tell by now I work for one) that translates into fewer support staff positions to allow departments to do the work of teaching and fewer tenure track positions and more adjunct positions or courses taught by grad students (who can be wonderful! but also they are often stretched thinner than thin).

SEC schools are investing in massive capital improvements. Very healthy budgets from sports, donors, good management. Some pressure on research (I believe most are R1), but that may be different than budgets.

Capital projects are being paused across the state of Virginia at schools that also have healthy budgets from sports, donors and good management. Not sure why SEC schools would be immune to current economic uncertainty.

https://www.whro.org/education-news/2025-05-15/renovation-and-expansion-projects-at-10-virginia-colleges-and-universities-put-on-pause

UVA doesn’t have close the sports $ of the SEC, nor the donors. These schools are rich and notably well-run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine there's a university in the country that's not instituting hiring freezes and budget cuts to degrees relative to their endowment--whether they're being public about that is another question. The hits to research funding from the current administration affect small colleges and big universities alike, and graduate school acceptances (where universities have come to rely on tuition money) are down.

With a kid entering as a first-year student next year, I just have to trust that schools with existing strength and standing will come through this time. But I think we'll be seeing lots more of the "do more with less" mantra being bandied about within universities (I guess you can tell by now I work for one) that translates into fewer support staff positions to allow departments to do the work of teaching and fewer tenure track positions and more adjunct positions or courses taught by grad students (who can be wonderful! but also they are often stretched thinner than thin).

SEC schools are investing in massive capital improvements. Very healthy budgets from sports, donors, good management. Some pressure on research (I believe most are R1), but that may be different than budgets.

Capital projects are being paused across the state of Virginia at schools that also have healthy budgets from sports, donors and good management. Not sure why SEC schools would be immune to current economic uncertainty.

https://www.whro.org/education-news/2025-05-15/renovation-and-expansion-projects-at-10-virginia-colleges-and-universities-put-on-pause

UVA doesn’t have close the sports $ of the SEC, nor the donors. These schools are rich and notably well-run.

The projects in Virginia that were paused were paused by the state of Virginia, not the schools. None of them were related to athletics. Athletics projects do not receive general fund funding.