In the midst of another year in the rolling crisis that has become a chronic condition for American higher education, it may be time to take a longer view. That higher education in America is in serious trouble is hardly controversial. Total enrollment in two-year and four-year institutions of higher education peaked in 2010, and it has been tailing off ever since. Large numbers of Americans appear to have soured on the idea that a college degree is worth the trouble, especially if it comes with a staggering debt load. Meanwhile, to many on the right, colleges and universities have become hotbeds of radical indoctrination rather than education. Facing growing fiscal pressures, more and more colleges and universities have cut back programs and abolished majors.
