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University Financial Woes

Thanks, Kathy. That's a good article (link below).

There are a lot of things happening in the educational field, and not all are the result of the pandemic or political leadership of the state. Just as we're seeing the wholesale purchase of properties by investment firms that ends up driving rents up, there are other effects from a change in demands by students and future employers when technologies and international trade changes their worlds. There is also a huge shift away from higher education among young men. It's a complicated picture.

We already knew the Democrats in Washington were looking at higher-education costs as an issue they could address, and now Pres. Biden is trying to mitigate the effects on the economy caused by long-term educational debt, which drains money away from consumption. When you combine all these factors, the resulting mosaic is not easy to solve.

It's obvious they can look at both state and international sources of students and see the ups and downs ahead of time. That doesn't stop all the petty tyrants from trying to build bigger castles. So, the first part of the solution has to be administration and a reality-check on the numbers of future students and monies which will become available. As simple as that sounds, we live in times when political (and other) agendas can make it seem complicated. While it may sound draconian to shut down this and that, consider that some of this and that may be brand spanking new, rather than 30-year-old buildings or programs. It might just be pulling in the horns, back to real sound levels. Second, views of what a modern university should be doing are evolving, and it may be useful to reduce this thing, even as that thing holds steady or grows. Discussions on the Internet reflect that POV all the time. Should a college teach to some profession, or should it be a more general Liberal Arts type school? Should there be more sports or less? Should they recruit students to increase its size or should there be an ideal student body size?

Shaping a corporation has many similar questions and isn't very simple if it isn't a one-dimensional organization. How much money can schools expect from political bodies like the state legislature or the federal government? That is a very difficult question to answer, but they've somehow managed it in the past. Even our local school system has its ups and downs, some due to inept or criminal management. Leadership is a primary issue. Do the people of the state want all this? Has anyone even asked them what they want?

Start by answering some fundamental questions, and a lot that follows will be easier and more useful.

On 8/15/23 15:51, Kathy wrote:

This article from the Chronicle of Higher Education explains how WVU ended up so far in debt.

https://community.wvu.edu/~jokatz/ChronStoryWVU.pdf

 

Kathy