The past nine months have only worsened the issues higher education is facing, leaving university IT teams with fewer staffers working for lower salaries amid overall tightening budgets, some of it in response to an array of new financial challenges. That’s not to mention the challenges that were ever-present in the years leading up to 2025. The enrollment cliff is here, and while overall enrollments have steadied after a yearslong decline, the full impacts of the enrollment cliff may not be felt until a couple more freshman classes are enrolled. And faith in higher education has never been lower, with a meager 35% of Americans saying college is “very important,” according to a newly released Gallup poll.
