Higher Education after COVID-19: How Universities Can Preserve Core Academic Functions and Reduce Spending

Higher education is in crisis. Revenues from all sources are expected to decrease at both public and private universities. The current crisis will raise existential questions for small and mid-tier institutions. Only universities with massive endowments and highly competitive admissions will escape the effects of the coming enrollment cliff. Special coronavirus relief funding from state and federal governments will improve cash flow in the short term, but they are not permanent solutions. Colleges must act now to cut unnecessary expenses while preserving core academic functions. This policy brief outlines urgent short-term reforms as well as long-term restructuring universities can undertake to survive the revenue shortfalls created by COVID-19 and state economic shutdowns.