What Will Colleges Do when the Bubble Bursts?

The problem facing American colleges and universities is larger than even the term "bubble" implies. A bursting bubble would force change on the more than four thousand postsecondary institutions in the United States, but something even more destructive is going to hit higher education, probably at the same time. The major sign that a bubble is about to rupture would be a decline in enrollment--one that might start slowly, but build fast. For private schools that depend heavily on tuition, and for public universities that count on rising enrollment funding from their states, decisions by potential students to stay away could spell serious financial trouble. In this article, the author examines an array of possible post-bubble solutions, and argues that for-profit institutions may actually be in the best position to survive a financial collapse. (Contains 19 footnotes.)