Analysts Warn Higher Education Headed for a Shakeout - Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report

More than 150 colleges and universities got failing scores on an annual test of their financial stability by the U.S. Department of Education in results, released this year, that date from 2011. Several have closed, including Saint Paul’s College in Virginia, Lon Morris College in Texas, Atlantic Union College in Massachusetts, Chester College in New Hampshire, and for-profit Chancellor University in Ohio. A few are in bankruptcy. This trend has been little noticed outside higher education. And inside higher education, some critics contend, colleges are not reacting to it quickly enough. “Change is needed, and it’s needed now,” the Bain report said. “Still, at the majority of institutions, the pace of change is slower than it needs to be. Plenty of hurdles exist, including the belief that things will return to the way they were. Note: They won’t.” “The old way of doing business is not going to sustain itself into the future,” said Zemsky. “You need somebody who stands up and says, ‘We can do better. Let’s get started.’ Absent that, we’re in for some really unpleasant times in higher education.” http://diverseeducation.com/article/55820/