This Week In College Viability (TWICV)

The final 2025 podcast for This Week in College Viability.

This is the podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges with data, details and perspectives offered nowhere else.

This week's stories include: 

+  Lots of layoff and cutback stories today

+ A college without a library.  (Bloomberg News story I was quoted in) That is the position that Albright College since 2019

+ Merry Christmas from your friendly accreditor
 
+ College Bankruptcies Are Coming

+ The Higher education market is adjusting:  Case in point:  Colorado Gov. J...

Greg Pillar answers these questions on this special podcast episode of 'This Week in College Viability'.

It is, of course, the holiday season.  Sitting here in front of the Blue Yeti microphone, I have to wonder how many college leadership scrooges are out there.  The Yeti microphone and I look at college finances constantly.  It is almost certain, that even during this holiday season, there are colleges on the brink of announcing they cannot continue.

And on that happy note, this is the podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges with data, details and perspectives offered nowhere else.

This week:

+ Closures, cutbacks, and...

TWICV News and Commentary for December 1, 2025

This is the podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges with data, details and perspectives offered nowhere else.

 + Rider President Says the University Will Survive (That’s a tough sell when I look at the data.)

+ A study of 44 private colleges in the northeast by Michael Horn and Steven Shulman.   More data to support my premise that higher education will continue to move through its consolidation era: closures today.  Mergers tomorrow.

+ Daniel Greenstein:  How Selectivity Shapes Financial Resili...

This Thanksgiving week podcast includes stories on:

+ We are now ‘sunsetting’ programs and majors.

+ Columbia considers expanding undergraduate enrollment by up to 20 percent   (I wonder why?_

+ Rider U’s financial and accreditation troubles continue to make news.

+ In a dog bites man story:  University Of Nebraska Faculty Senate Votes No-Confidence Against its  Chancellor

+ When grades stop meaning anything (UC San Diego story from last week) Kelsey Piper on her Substack site

Show notes:

My email:  gary@collegeviability.com

Simmons University proposes sunsetting five undergradu...

TWICV News and Commentary for November 17, 2025

This is the podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges with data, details and perspectives offered nowhere else.

Where are we headed this week before Thanksgiving 2025?

+  It wouldn’t be a show without cutbacks and layoffs.  We had a closure announcement last week, but the college was so small, it did warrant big headlines.

+ Wittenberg U in Ohio:  On probation.  I will have the data for you.

+ Utica college president moves to get the college financially sound...

The headlines for November 10, 2025:

+ A college closure in Illinois.  How many more colleges are having that discussion?

+ IHE:  14 colleges with cutbacks and layoffs in October.

+ In Nebraska, faculty oppose academic program cuts

+ Accreditors move to control innovation

Show notes and links.

Suburban Trinity Chistian College to close at end of academic year due to financial challenges

October Brought Deep Cuts at Multiple Campuses

How Title IV Compliance Should Serve as Higher Education's New Strategic Planning

University of Nebraska-Lincoln committee opposes most ac...

TWICV News and Commentary for November 3, 2025

This is the podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges with data, details and perspectives offered nowhere else.

Today’s show:  

+ Layoffs and cutbacks

+ How Closing a University Changes You

+ The Fragility of Small Scale   2025  Daniel Greenstein

+ Higher Ed Is Sleepwalking Toward Obsolescence — And AI Won’t Be the Cause, Just the Accelerant

+ Colleges Face a Financial Reckoning. The University of Chicago Is Exhibit A.

Show notes:

GU Faces Pro...

TWICV News and Commentary for Oct 27 2025

This is the podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges with data, details and perspectives offered nowhere else.

Call it your college education about colleges.

This week:

+ Central Washington University says ‘ flat is good.”  Get out your anti-spin pills for this one.

+ Wilberforce University Launches Feasibility Study to Revive Historic Football Program 

+ Why college direct admissions is growing nationally

+ Jeff Selingo:  “It’s the cost.” And outcomes

+ Is Freezing tuition a good idea?<...

Podcasting sites were also impacted by the October 20th AWS issues.  So, a day late, probably not a dollar short.

Here are the show notes and links for stories in the Oct. 20th podcast

Higher ed layoff tracker: Mass. colleges cut more than 400 jobs over six months

UNC laying off approximately 50 staff to address budget deficit

Thomas Jefferson University to lay off about 650 employees

As its undergrad enrollment slid, UL’s hiring soared

Want to Know What You’ll Pay for College? There’s a Fast New Calcula...

Each week I wade through dozens and dozens of higher ed stories from either referrals from others or my own Google Alert searches.  The stories and commentary that make it onto the podcast are my best judgement of what my growing audience wants to hear.

For example, there was an Ohio private college president that posted this week that “ Just as culture eats strategy for breakfast, backbone beats brand”.  Now, I don’t know what that means.  He was trying to create a perception that his college was doing well.    After a review of the 4ygr and some financ...

This is the podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges with data, details and perspectives offered nowhere else.  Forward the podcast link to your higher education friends.  No sense in just you getting latest news and commentary on the whole industry.

This week’s show includes:

+ Many layoff and cutback stories

+ More tuition resets that focus on access but not success

+ More Colleges Promise Graduates Employment, Grad School Placement.  

+ America’s Distorted Market for Higher Education

+ and much more.  ...

In my many years on this earth, I have coached youth sports, served as a basketball referee and baseball umpire for many of those years.

As I watch the NIL and transfer portal news, I have been pondering the medium and longer-term fate of the youth sports industry. 

Steve Dittmore caught my attention recently with his 'Glory Days' Substack site.  I reached out to him and what resulted is a novel look at college sports and some informed speculation on its impact on the youth sports industry.

Here are some of the qu...

Access does not equal success:  You have heard me say many times that too many colleges focus on enrollment and not nearly enough on graduation rates.  This phrase captures the essence of that.  Getting into college does not mean a student will be successful and graduate – yet enrollment is the focus we read and hear about for almost all colleges.

Sign up for regular updates on the financial health of colleges here.

This week:

+ A college leader at Bethel U (MN) reached out with clarifying information from a recent story I had on hi...

This week’s theme:  “challenging the enrollment spin”. 

I have a set of colleges on today’s show that would like us to believe that they are winning the higher education enrollment game.  Yet, in every case their enrollment data is selective and short-term. 

They ignore mostly pathetic graduation rates and don’t even begin to share their troublesome financial picture.  All the while trying to paint a rosy picture that their college is not like all of the other colleges in dire financial straights. 

Financial truths are more valuable than spin and other narratives...

'Wicked' college experience at Ann Arbor MI football game shows what the value of college could be.  

One of the ways I unwind during the last part of each day is to watch YouTube videos.  I like to watch talented entertainers and comedy clips from TV shows. 

One of them that came across my feed over the weekend was the UMich Band and Students recently performing a medley of songs from the musical Wicked.  It was just stunningly good.

I bring this up as an opportunity to again say that college is good.  Go if...

The 2nd edition of Requiem for a College 2nd edition by Jonathan Nichols is a deeply personal and cautionary tale that explores the growing trend of college closures in the United States. It's a gripping account that reads like a mystery, but it's based on a true story. The book centers on the closure of Saint Joseph's College in Indiana, a school with a 128-year history that came to a heartbreaking end in 2017. Nichols, a former English professor and alumnus of the college, uses hundreds of hours of interviews and documentation to offer an insider's view, transporting readers to...

A long start to this week's podcast.  I take a detailed look at how colleges spin their enrollment and focus on the financial health data of one college in PA as an example.

Sign up for regular updates on the financial health of colleges here.

Other stories include:
+ Higher ed spending up as enrollment plummets at Illinois universities
+ Impact of Federal Policy Shifts: Higher Education Enrollment Cliff or Moderate Decline?
+ SB 1 is forcing Ohio universities to cut dozens of degree programs
+ Hundreds Of U.S. Colleges Poised To Close In Next D...

I talk about college finances and colleges spinning their numbers regularly.  This is the first time I have had a CFO (interim) come onto the podcast to share the stark reality of the financial challenges at a specfic college - Albright College (PA).

Larry Bomback has been the interim CFO since late 2024.  Albright College has been in the news about its financial plight for many months.

In this special podcast episode, Larry addresses the challenges and adds details of the recovery plan put in place by the new leadership team at Albright.

Some wi...

I am releasing my first 'Best Of' This Week in College Viability podcast.  You will here from 2 short clips during the podcast from former college presidents.

Dr. Paula Langteau will discuss 3 key metrics for college closure and than add more on why colleges don't announce their closures sooner.

Dr. Ricardo Azziz discusses 3 topics on mergers and acquisistions.

The first clip will be the reasons why college leaders need to start the merger discussions early.

The second shares some perspective on why this is the consolidation era for higher education.

F...

Lots and lots and lots of enrollment announcements last week.  So, I decided to do a little tally exercise.  

You will be interested to see how many of these greate enrollment announcements were carefully qualified announcements and how many were clearly legitimate.   I had 4 brave colleges that announced decreased enrollment last week

Stories and commentary for August 25th:

+  What does it mean when a college announces a ‘record enrollment’?  We will use the College Viability 7-second check to find out.

+ Strange happenings at Our Lady of the Lake University in TX

Here are the questions Dr. Azziz answered during the podcast

 1. You are in the middle of a research project to determine the seating capacity of the entire higher education market.  Talk about that project.

2.  When we look at higher education, it is clear that there are too many colleges and too many colleges seats.  How did we get to this point?

3.  Is it fair to say that higher educationis is in a consolidation era?

4.  You have two books on mergers in higher education.  The second one is coming out soon.  Talk about a...

TWICV News and Commentary for August 18 2024    

I had a higher ed friend send me a story on Sunday about an Iowa private college.  The spin was silly and obvious.  A look at their financials suggests this college is a likely closure candidate when the Higher Education tipping point hits.   I could have pulled a half-dozen of these type of stories in just the past week.

This is an industry living on spin.  They couch their press releases in carefully worded avoidance of hardly any details.  Graduation rates are hidden.  Reinforcing my view that too many colleges...

Shellee Howard is the founder and CEO of College Ready, a college graduate, and a Certified Educational Planner. 

Her son graduated from Harvard in the spring of 2016 debt free! Her daughter attended the University of Alabama and completed the Nursing program at CBU, also debt free! 

Her passion is helping students all over the world get into the best possible college for them. 

Shellee has traveled around the world helping students plan for their “perfect match” college. She believes that no two students are the same and that each student must have their own str...

This is the podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges with data, details and perspectives offered nowhere else.  This podcast is the alternative media source for colleges, students, families, and communities.  I work every week to expose the spin, the stalls, and the silliness that pervades Higher Education in America.

This week:

+ Bellwether warns of school closures, consolidations ahead.  You will be surprised when I share what part of the market this headline addresses.

+  Peter Khoury:  The Manufactured Crisis: College Closures Are Not Abrupt. They're Allowed.

...

This Week in College Viability is the alternative higher education media source for college stakeholders.

This was a big weekend here at College Viability.  We released our first fully automated College Viability report for student and families

The free and paid versions are similar to the Kelly Blue Book for cars.  KBB kicks the tires on cares.  Our apps kick the financial health of colleges.

The app for students & families also serves as a 'REVERSE FAFSA".  Since families submit their financial data to FAFSA, it is only fair that there is a reso...

For the July 28th This Week in College Viability podcast, I have: 

+ A college president who must be dizzy with the spin she is trying to impart on a very difficult financial situation.

+ Technical and trade schools are not sitting waiting for students.  They are marketing to them aggressively.  I have a story and a point to make on that.

+ College business officers are still a generally delusional group.  This is my observation from an IHD story on its annual survey,

+ And I have another college ambulance chaser story from Michigan

Here are the headlines from today's podcast

+ Vague layoffs and a merger

+ Maine university system approves accelerated degree programs to address workforce gaps

+ Are  there really positive perceptions developing around higher education.

This is the podcast that talks about the financial health and viability of public and private colleges with data, details and perspectives offered nowhere else.

+ More layoffs and cutbacks.

+ Look at 2 colleges with accreditation updates.

+ Pennsylvania’s 14-campus higher education system is piloting plans to allow students to access courses beyond their home institution

+ TUITION DISCOUNT RATE hits another high.

+ Ryan Craig at Achieve Partners talks about the bad day that graduate programs had earlier this month.

Make sure to share the podcast link with others.  No sen...

Dr. Paula Langteau experienced a college closure first hand as President of Presentation College.  Her efforts provide a positive example on how to provide guidance and support to students and their familes at the time of closure. 

She joins me on this special podcast episode of 'This Week' to share guidance for college leaders, students, their families and others.

If you are unfamiliar with the phrase 'college teach-outs', here are some basic points.

Ensuring Student Completion: A teach-out is a structured plan implemented when a college is closing, designed to allow current students to...

Here are some of the news and commentary stories for July 7, 2025

+ Siena Heights University announces closure

+ Indiana colleges cut hundreds of low-enrollment degree programs ahead of state mandate

+ Southwestern Seminary placed on 12-month probation, keeps accreditation

+ La Salle University warned accreditation could be in jeopardy

+ A set of public universities in IL focus on enrollment and not graduation.  My words, not theirs.

Show notes and links:

Siena Heights University announces closure

Students, families weigh options as news of Michigan university closing ‘came out of...

TWICV News and Commentary for June 30, 2025

+ Many layoff and cutback announcements last week.  

+ Cornell College (IA) steers away from financial health toward marketing hail mary.

+ My alma mater: typical of the plight of public And private colleges.

+ Tuition discount rate continues to move upward.  Good for the students.  Not so much for the colleges.

+ Seth O’dell:  it’s the trends that matter.  Enrollment is still down from pre-pandemic.

+ A newsletter story from Anand Sanwal that suggests colleges get some skin in the game – just like e...

Much thanks to the many, many listeners to the podcast.  This past week we hit 10,000 downloads.  

If you would, make sure to share the podcast link with your colleagues.  We don’t want them to miss out on the perspectives we offer here at College Viability.

This week we have layoffs, cutbacks, and lots of tuition increases.  

It is also silly season for college enrollment announcements, and I have one of those.  

More indicators that the public colleges are ahead of privates in recognizing the need for mergers.

And more ev...

Elliot Felix joins me to talk about his new book:

The Connected College: Leadership Strategies for Student Success

An encouraging, evidenced-based playbook for busting silos so that students succeed.

He discusses:

News stories and commentary this week:

+ ‘Lives will be impacted’: TSU proposes staffing, scholarship cuts to stay open

+ Shuttered Michigan House GOP's higher ed budget includes huge cuts for UM, MSU

+ NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future (Wells College)  shows emotional and maybe irrational attachment to our colleges

+ Inside Silicon Valley's anti-college movement

Show notes:

Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future

Michigan House GOP's higher ed budget includes huge cuts for UM, MSU

North Carolina’s Guilford College scrambl...

With the second edition of 'Requiem for a College' due out on July 8th, I asked author Jon Nichols and publisher Kate Colbert to join me again to talk about the book. 

It has been more than 8 years since St. Joseph College (IN) closed. In the interim, scores of additional collleges have closed their doors.  Public college closures are now joining the list of private 4-year college closures on a regular basis.

Here is the Amazon description of the book.  Click here to pre-order.

Heralded as “A crucial, compelling, and cautionary read for highe...

Here are the stories and links for this week's podcast.

Harrisburg University to Close Philadelphia Campus

Guilford College Considers Formal Step Toward Possible Faculty Layoffs

Facing declining enrollment, Clark University to reduce faculty by as much as 30 percent over next three years

As UConn enrollment spikes, a housing squeeze tightens. What’s being done across state to address it

University of Oregon braces for deeper cuts as deficit balloons to $25.7 million

Hastings College earns reaffirmation of accreditation from Higher Learning Commission

Middle States to approve Ke...

On the June 2, 2025 'This Week in College Viability' podcast, Gary looks at:

+ Can you really ‘grow’ out of financial challenges?
+  Notre Dame College (closed) is sued by Bank of America.  The reason is a big deal.
+  Education news reporters have a really tough job.

Show notes and links:
 
Peninsula College closing Fort Worden campus

Ivy Tech CC (IN) will be laying off 202 employees. What that means for Indy campus

Multiple Saint Michael’s College (VT) employees laid off

USI president says tuition increase inevitable after state budg...

I didn’t broadcast on Memorial Day.  I spent much of the day reading military histories.  I was in the Army Reserves for 8 years, but I cannot imagine the challenges and bravery of those who have fought in military battles.  I did not.

But back to my role as Your College Financial Quality Control Advocate

This week on 'This Week'

+ Buffalo State University to cut some programs, staff to help balance its budget

+ State university systems in MD and OR also announced cutbacks or potential cutbacks.

+ Let the colleges fail...

In an era of DEI cutbacks, we have a diverse set of stories this week.

+ 7 public colleges in PA proposed to close.

+ KS is fretting over tuition increases, but the real issues is they can’t graduate students in 4 years.

+ A college closure prediction story from 2019

+ Regulators remove Antioch College's financial distress designation

+ States Are Taking Up Higher-Ed Reform

App links:
Private College Advanced Financial Compass
College Viability app for Executive Analysis

Show notes:

Christian Brothers University and Lewis University Sign Le...

Lots of cutback and layoff stories this week.  With most commencement events taking place, I continue to look for stories where colleges proudly announce their sub-50% graduation rates.  Hasn’t happened yet.

Here are the top stories beyond cutbacks and layoffs
 

+ Arkansas Baptist College employees go weeks without pay
+ Not All Colleges Are Worth Saving

+ Averett University is suing its former CFO and endowment fund investment manager

+ WSJ:  The End of the Free College Lunch

Show Notes:

Schedule a 1:1 Demo of the Private College Advanc...

Here are some of the stories I cover on the May 5th TWICV.

1.      Limestone University holds graduation after faculty votes to ban President, VP, Board of Trustees.  As you might guess, I have some thoughts on that.

2.      Closed college students” Be wary the college ambulance chasers

3.      Education Dept. Moves to Make It Easier for Colleges to Switch Accreditors

4.      Trump's Accreditation Guidance Sidesteps Core Higher Ed Safeguards.  No, they have already been sidestepped.  I will tell you how.

Do you have stories you want covered.  Drop me a note at gary@collegeviabil...

Elliot Felix joined me to chat about his new book:  The Connected College:  Leadership Strategies for Student Sucess

Some of the highlights from our interview:

1. "differentiation is destiny"
2. Sharing resources across many colleges
3. The challenges and opportunities of academic program reviews
4. Breakthrough partnerships
and more . . . .

From the book intro:
Instead of silos and separations, we need colleges and universities where all students feel a sense of belonging, courses lead to rewarding careers, students have the support to succeed, and everyone works together to make this happen.

Th...

It looks like it is accreditor justification week at College Viability.  Many of the stories in this week's podcast deal with the chronic inability of accrediting agencies to use graduation rate and financial data to monitor collleges. 

Show notes:

Trump’s Executive Order Bashes Accreditors, Blames DEI for Low Standards and Poor Outcomes

St. Andrews University to Close on May 5

UToledo announces plans to cut multiple undergrad programs

Statement on Executive Order Regarding Accreditation (from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education)

Where Is Congress?

Incr...

Eric Kelderman is a Senior Writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Our podcast topic is based on Eric's March 2025 article entitled:  

‘We Have More Athletes Than We Have Fans’

Many small colleges have invested in sports to boost enrollment. What happens when it doesn’t work?

Eric adds some depth to the developing concerns that adding college sports programs is a solution to enrollment and financial challenges.

Springtime in higher education is bringing more and more stories of individual college financial trauma and industry-wide trends that almost always are negative.

+ Limestone College (S C) nears what may be its final days of existence.

+ Jacksonville University faculty issues ‘no confidence’ vote in President Cost after decision on cuts

+  Ryan Craig:  An Unexpected Consequence Of The Push For Student Loan Forgiveness

+ Fewer students earned college degrees for 3rd straight year

Shownotes:

College Viability Web Site

College Viability YouTube channel

Penn State branch campus...

There is much to catch up on in this week's podcast episode.

Highlights include: 

+ Two Mass. colleges in financial ‘danger,’ accreditation agency finds – Belatedly so.

+ Our College Closed: Advice for Navigating Professional Deaths and Rebirths

+ The reason dozens of Mass. colleges could close within a decade (hint: it’s not Trump)

+ Shock:  A politician speaks out on a public college closure.

+ Yet another accreditation for an undeserving college.   When will accreditors wake up and make colleges graduate more than 50% of their students.

+ Much more.

Show Note...

Jonathan Nichols self-published the first edition of Requiem for a College in 2022.

Here is the Amazon description of the book from 2022.

On February 3rd, 2017, Saint Joseph’s College, a small college in Rensselaer, Indiana, announced it would “suspend operations,” effectively ending an over 100 year history as a four-year college. While most of the world may not have taken notice, the day left a painful void in the lives of the College’s students, faculty, employees, alumni, and the surrounding community.

Requiem for a College is their story. Many books have examined the trend of small...

Here are the big headlines for This Week in College Viability.

+ Free-Falls: Stocks and Colleges

+ Do strategic alliances yield significant financial results?

+ 2 colleges cut ALL NCAA sports programs

+ ‘Requiem for a College’ 2nd edition is out in 2025

+ Lower stock market returns to impact college endowments.

For private demos of the College Viability App, the College Majors Completion App or the PDS Private College Advanced Financial Compass, email:  gary@collegeviability.com

Show notes and links

Spring Hill College Announces Strategic Alliance with Rockhurst University for A...

I saw the value of the college experience up close this past weekend.  I attended a fundraising benefit for a local private college.   20 college athletes.  (still student-athletes – although I may change my mind on that)  They put on their best clothes, were introduced to the 800 people in attendance, ate a really nice chef-prepared meal, and helped excite the crowd during the live auction.

They had the chance to shake hands and learn how to be good at meet and greets.  

Why do I open today’s podcast with this?  Today’s podcast continues to chronicle the financia...

Best wishes to all of my Irish friends on this St. Patrick’s day 2025.  I looks like the jacket I am wearing is green.  So, I should be good to go.

An ugly weather weekend in the eastern half of the country.  It looks like a tornado might have hit within a mile of our St. Louis suburban home Friday night.

An economic tornado continues in Higher Education.  Here are today’s news and commentary stories.

+Lots of layoffs and cutback stories today.

+ Albright College tries to spin mid-year financial growth.  Just plai...

The lead this week is how do college athletics tie into Higher Education finances?  

Other news and commentary stories on: 

+ University of Dayton cutting 65 faculty and staff positions.

+ An interesting public college merger in New Jersey

+ St. Augustine’s (NC) on its last appeal to maintain accreditation.

+ A PA politician wants to make it harder to close public colleges.   

Show Notes / Links

University of Dayton Not Renewing Contracts of 45 Faculty Members, 20 Staff in Wave of Cutbacks

New Jersey City University, with declining enrollment, to mer...

Listen to the fascinating history behind the development of Dr. Matt Hendrick's Perspective Data Science (PDS) and its two major higher education financial comparison and analysis products.

It started with announced program cutbacks at the University of Tulsa in 2018.  It has evolved into a technology-based marvel that captures, analyzes and displays some 1 million data points for about 1,300 private colleges from 2016-2024.

The PDS Advanced Compass compares a private college with different sets of peer groups across more than 40 reports from audited financial statements, IRS 990's and IPEDS data.

The Strategic Compass drills down e...

Springtime is close.  Spring training is underway in Florida and Arizona.

Let’s do our own spring training and look at these stories.

+ 2 public colleges TSU and Penn State are in the college cutback news.  TSU with staffing cuts, and Penn State will soon be looking at closing some regional public colleges.

+ Middle States hosted a webinar:  How to close a college.  I will look at the possible motivations.

+ College Closures Are a Blessing in Disguise

+ A merger that won’t happen.  What that may mean for future college mergers.<...

It is universally acknowledged that higher education is faced with a multitude of challenges.  The working relationships between college faculty and their president is certainly high on the list of those challenges.

The two authors of 'No Confidence - When College Faculty Turn Against Their Presidents', Chuck Ambrose and Mike Nietzel were gracious enough to join me for a special edition of 'This Week in College Viability'.  While the book won't be released for many months, the points made are worthy of consideration today.

Here are the question Mike and Chuck addressed during the podcast in...

In this episode of College Viability News, I discuss the growing concerns among college faculty regarding financial health and enrollment trends.

I also share concerns about the financial struggles of another high-quality college, Franklin and Marshall College, the challenges faced by Wells College in selling its campus, and the financial distress designation (and the attempts to play hide and seek with that information) of Antioch College. The conversation also touches on the enrollment silly enrollment spin at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Kent State's vague academic consolidation plan, and (sarcasm alert) the ambitions of Chicago...

The second Trump administration has given Higher Education a lot more than finances to worry about in the past few weeks.  But, have no fear, I will continue to stay focused on the financial health and viability of public and private colleges.

As I have shared regularly, the market always adjusts.  This market adjustment is being driven by government decisions and it will continue to do so as the financial challenges continue to mount.

This week we have:

+TSU still in danger of running out of money to keep the lights on.

...

From the Amazon book description:

Bankrupt U – Students, Parents and Alumni Are Going Broke, & Colleges Don’t Give a C.R.A.P.is the ultimate insiders’ guide to college. The authors, both college professors,DO give a C.R.A.P. They want students to get the most from their college experience while paying the least amount possible. They also share crucial information on making money - something colleges don’t bother to teach their students.

C.R.A.P. stands for “Creating Richer Alumni Playbook.” It’s what every student should get while they’re in col...

I had my annual summit with a good Higher Education friend last week.  He was one of my first virtual-only connections and always brings valuable perspective for me.   He talked about restaurants.  Over the course of time, many restaurants open and a certain percentage of them will close for a variety of reasons. Bad food, bad location, bad pricing, high costs, poor financial management – and the list goes on.

Restaurants are reviewed by any number of website and publications.  There are really good ones and those that are not really so good.  Just like colleges.

In the...

Here are the lead news and commentary stories for January 27th

+ Big cuts at Sonoma State - including all athletics

+ Which media outlet might also be a college PR firm?

+ The ‘Dead Horse Theory’ applied to colleges

+ Media ‘regurgitation reporting’ runs amuck.

Show notes and links:

Commonwealth University to Close Clearfield Campus

‘Shock and grief’: Sonoma State University makes deep cuts to staff, departments, degrees and all student athletics
The Sad Decline of Sonoma State

As Webster U. digs itself out of a hole, it’s...

.  I want to start off today’s podcast with a story about 2 college professors I met.  I had the chance to meet and talk with these two kindred souls last week.  These two released a book on Amazon in December.   The title:  Bankrupt U.   The authors:  college professors: Bill Quain and Joe Corabi.

These two experienced and entertaining professors and authors take on colleges and college faculty in a way that you will want to read. I will save the details for later.   They will be on the podcast as my special guests as soon as we...

This Week in College Viability headlines for January 13, 2025

+ Bacone College Accreditation Withdrawn – College Drivel for Bacone’s response

+ Guilford College risks losing accreditation, probation extended through 2025. Board pres is leading the college’s efforts.  

+ Of course, the new ‘College Drivel’ section is on for today.

+ Which Colleges Always Lose Money?

+ Why You Should Check Your College's Financial Health from Kimberly Lankford at Kiplinger

AI- generated Takeaways (edited)

Summary

In this episode of 'This Week in College Viability,' Gary Stocker discusses the current challenges facing higher education, including leadership changes at Guilford College, the merger of Gannon and Ursuline, and the implications of declining enrollment numbers. He emphasizes the need for financial transparency in colleges and explores the potential for class action suits to hold educational institutions accountable. The conversation also touches on the return on investment for students, the impact of career technical education programs, and the ethical concerns surrounding Pell churning. Stocker concludes with a critical view of the...

The Kind Leadership Guild is a community for educational leaders striving to become more effective and humane with themselves, their team, and the people they serve, including a vibrant Facebook community, regular free zoom workshops, group coaching with fellow leaders, and more.

Join me as Sarah Clark discusses higher education job loss, accreditation processes, and her Kind Leadership Guild.

This is the final show for 2024.  I will be away with family next Monday.

Here is some of what I have for this week's podcasts.

+ College viability is an alternative media source for higher education.
+ The College of St. Rose sells everything and still can't pay off creditors.
+ Spin. Spin. Spin at University of Arkansas Little Rock.
+ Too many colleges?  A Middle States commissioner says: "No".
+ Another 'waiting too long' story at American Catholic University

More Show Notes
Columbia College Chicago to discontinue several degree programs, lay off fa...

I have a big announcement to start off today’s show.

After reading, listening and watching the traditional higher education media, I have realized that is not me.  I don’t do cookbook stories on how to fix higher education on the margins.  I don’t engage in trite college stories about ‘awesome’ or ‘excited’ events or personalities.

It is time for me to step forward and share that I am your Self-appointed ‘alternative higher education media source’  

Giggle if you will.  Roll your eyes if you must.  My operating premise (right or wrong) has been that Hi...

This week's episode has some action in layoffs and cutbacks.  I thought we had an imminent closure, but Keystone College is still trying to ride out a nearly impossible financial situation with appeals of their accreditation removal.  Poor students.

+  I have never used ‘fake news’ in this podcast before, but I have a story about college completion rates trending up that fits that categorization.

+ I have added a section on ‘College Drivel”  ‘to talk stupidly or carelessly’.  Prepare to nod your head in agreement.

+ Affluent White Students Are Skipping College, and No One Is Sure Why. ...

News and commentary stories this week:
 + Webster University’s financial distress from HLC.  More of those designations coming?

+ Keystone college could lose their accreditation later this month.

+ Central State (OH)  makes major changes

+  The Bell Tolls from Richard K. Vedder  James G Martin Center for Academic Renewal.  I will focus on graduation rates and poor financial health.

There is much higher education news this 2024 Thanksgiving week.

Headlines

+ Some layoffs and cutbacks this week

+ 2 stories that suggest college leaders may be moving more aggressively in their relationships with faculty

+ Anderson U Fitch rating heads south.

+ More ugly spin on a college with an unsustainable financial pattern

+ St. Augustine U sells off the farm to stay afloat

Show Notes and links:

As Fontbonne University winds down, its students leave to finish their studies

Drexel University lays off 60 employees in face...

It is the week before Thanksgiving and my prediction of the college closure rate picking up steam has not yet developed.  I still believe that there are scores of colleges out there without the resources to be viable.  My concern is now moving toward how many of these will wait too long and must announce their closure with very short notice to students, faculty, staff, and communities. Time will tell.

For this economic imbalance to get to some sort of supply and demand equilibrium, many more colleges need to close.  

So, this week’s news and c...

The Red Guy won and the Blue lady lost.  

I am guessing most of us have read and listened to countless stories about the outcome and potential future impact of last Tuesday’s national election.

Here is a 'This Week' prediction for you.  “It’s impact on HE was going to be materially insignificant no matter whether red or blue one.”

+ I also look at both student reporters and the college leaders they interview.
+ States are taking on fewer college costs. Who is picking up the bill?
+ 2 stories and commentary on the electi...

AI-generated takeaways

Chapters:
00:00 Election Day and Higher Education Trends

02:55 Layoffs and Financial Struggles in Colleges

Robert Heil, CEO of Financial Aid Services, joins me to talk about removing friction from the financial aid process, the importance of comparing good and bad 4-year graduation rates, and finding ways to make colleges more accountable for graduating their students.

Robert also talks about the challenges of college leaders in this day and age.  It's worth a listen.

This week we dissect and analyze:

To purchase a version of the 2024 College Viability apps, click HERE.

Show Notes:
Tracking college closures

Southeast Mo. State leaders respond to enrollment decline

Cash-Strapped Colleges Are Selling Their Prized Art and Mansions

...

With consolidations in many forms moving through colleges, Dr. Laura De Veau speaks from experience.

She addresses these quesstions in this special edition of 'This Week in College Viability'.

I reached out to Laura when I saw her post on Vanderbilt University announcing a new presence in Manhattan.  (After we recorded the podcast on October 25, 2024, Vandy announced a move to Florida as well.)  She addresses Vandy's moves and much more.

Headlines for the October 21, 2024 podcast

Takeaways from this podcast episode.

I want to start off this week’s podcast with a personal observation.  

I watched some 40- 50,000 people run in the Chicago Marathon yesterday.  It was a spectacle of humanity to see so many people invest so much into a challenging endeavor like running 26.2 miles

Watching some 50,000 people pass you in a matter of about 90 minutes,  is a lot of humankind.  

As I was watching those tens of thousands of souls, it was easy to make the connection to a higher education number.  40,000 is about the same number of college students impacted by college...

This week’s top news and commentary:

+ Yet another college sees football as enrollment salvation

+ Standard and Poors: College competition and operational pain are the ‘new normal,’  

+ You Can Now Get Admitted to Hundreds of Colleges Without Even Applying

+  You get what you pay for.   Free community college in Massachusetts expected to draw 45,000 students within a year

+ Those stories and more on the Oct 7 'This Week in College Viability'.

Purchase the version of the 2024 College Viability app you need.

Show notes:

Elizabethtown College (PA) reduc...

Headlines this week:

+Elizabethtown College: Fun place or not?

+Bradley University enrollment dips below 5,000 for first time in over 30 years

+High Schools are closing too.  What will be the impact on colleges?
 Yet another college resets tuition with the age-od tag:  “Our College has been a secret too well kept for too long,”

+ California campuses brace for ‘severe consequences’ as budget gap looms

+ Who cares if most UW Madison students come from outside of Wisconsin?

Plus more.

Show Notes:

35 Baldwin Wallace Uni...

This week's podcast focuses on desperation heaves and mea culpas'.

I ask why can't college presidents be like college athletic coaches?

For the first time ever, I announce that a college is not 'consideration worthy'.

Those stories and much more in the September 23, 2024 'This Week in College Viability' podcast.

LInks to College Viability Products:
Products:
2024 Private College Viability App for Executive Analysls
2024 Private College Viability App for Faculty & Staff
2024 Private College Viability App for Students & Families

2024 PUBLIC College Viability App for Executive Analysls
2024 PUBLIC...

Welcome to the Sep 16 TWICV podcast.

It is still summer in St. Louis. High 80’s most of this week.  With any luck, the St. Louis Cardinals will be put out of their playoff hope misery shortly.  

And colleges continue to announce positive enrollment stories.  ‘New enrollment record’, ‘Biggest class ever’ are just some of the typical headlines.

That’s fine.  Colleges can spin the vague enrollment measure as much as they want.

If you haven’t discovered Matt Hendrick’s PDS research tool, you need to do so.  It quickly and simply visualizes 7 a...

If I created titles for these podcasts, this one would be:  Benefits of Hindsight in Closing a College.

Dr. David Evans was the president of Vermont Southern College in 2019.  His college was on the leading edge of a demise that has since impacted dozens more private colleges.   

Closure.

In this special podcast, we discuss:

TWICV for September 9, 2024

We have all survived our first full weekend of college and professional football, so let’s get to the headlines for this episode:  

+ Cutbacks and layoffs:  Delta State 

+ Rider University cuts student newspaper

+  Talladega College not shutting down,  They have a 4-step plan

+  Drake U has an interesting spin on 2 highly-qualified WS rankings.  You have to hear this.

+ I was mean to the president of Middles States Commission on HE

+  Ryan Craig:  College rankings will never be done by Consumer reports.

Is it fair to critique the financial health and viability of colleges?

I am a sports enthusiast.  I rarely care who wins; but I enjoy watching the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat as we used to hear on The Wide World of Sports.

Recently, I noticed local and national sport writers and talking heads break down many games to a play by play level.  Of course, their analysis is mostly subjective, but it does have elements of data and drawing on their expertise and experience.

So, I have just one st...

Here are the questions Ben Unglesbee addressed during our podcast interview.

This week's podcast starts with a WWII sampling bias story that strongly relates to college enrollment.  My thanks to Jon Boeckenstedt for making the connection.

+ Alverno College received and HLS financial probation letter and nobody knows it.

+ Wisconsin week:  UW Regents close college and lay off 32 tenured professors

+ Spinning Fall enrollment

+   Mark La Branche  IHE Survivability Is Not Sustainability

College Viability series of Apps

2024 Private College Viability app for Executive Analysis
 

2024 Private College Viability app for Faculty & Staff (Enterprise-wide license for $300)

2024...

If you think colleges are having troubles, here in St. Louis we can’t even get the city kids to school.  The great St. Louis bus catastrophe kicks off today.  My friend, Blythe Bernhard at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has done Pulitzer-worthy investigative stories on the colossal failure that is SLPS leadership.  It’s not the kids, not the families, not the employees – it’s the school board and its hired – and now ousted leaders.

Send your questions and comments to me at gary@collegeviability.com

This week:  

+ Colleges Are Wed to the Status Quo – a...

Get the College Viability Student & Family updates here.

College classes are beginning to bring students to campus for the Fall 2024 term.  While the FAFSA Debacle is still out there, I am sensing some last-minute scrambling by both students and colleges to get the FAFSA app submitted and processed.

I am going to stick with my forecast of 2-3 colleges closings per week starting later this Fall.  The FAFSA Debacle is part of that, but the overall trend of cutback and layoffs really suggests the end is near for many more private colleges.

There wi...

St. Ambrose University President Amy Novak and Mount Mercy University President Todd Olson join me to discuss the strategic combination of their two organizations. 

Summary

Dr. Amy Novak, president of St. Ambrose University, and Dr. Todd Olson, president of Mount Mercy University, discuss their strategic combination and the future of Iowa private colleges. They emphasize the need for innovation and bold change in higher education to address access, affordability, and the needs of their regions. They differentiate their strategic combination from a merger, highlighting the focus on creating something new and better. They a...

The end of July and early August produced a really slow news week in higher education.  My google alerts on many higher education topics produced more alumni obituaries than anything else.

But then Forbes released their 2024 Financial Grades for Private Colleges over the weekend.  I will go into great detail about the article and its meaning for HE.

Get the College Viability Student & Family updates here.

College Viability series of Apps

2024 Private College Viability app for Executive Analysis
 

2024 Private College Viability app for Faculty & Staff (Enterprise-wide license for $300)

Here are the questions from my interview with Rebeka Mazzone, Founder and CEO of FutureEDFinance.

Q...

The end of July is upon us.  The Olympics are all over the TV and news.  I understand there is a presidential election in about 100 days.  I just saw 5 Bucks and 3 does wandering through my typical American suburb street.

And none of this changes that fact that higher education in general and smaller, private colleges in particular, are headed toward the consequences of a diminishing demand and the FAFSA Debacle of 2024.

+ Frequent TWICV flyer WIU president confirms more layoffs, under $10 million left to balance budget

+ Faculty are really upset at Hampshire Col...

Here are the lead news and commentary stories for July 22, 2024

Get the College Viability Student & Family updates here.

Layoffs, cutbacks, closures & FAFSA check ins.  Folks it is going to be 10-11% decrease in enrollment.  Not everywhere, but it will be in colleges that cant’ afford to lose anything like that number of students.

+ HLGU (MO) has a dizzy spinning story that I will dissect with data.

+  Colleges are just link Kohl’s – the retail outlet

+ U of Memphis is confused about selectivity and enrollment.

+ Don’t tick off your nu...

It was last Monday that Northwestern College (IL) (NOT University)announced its closure.  They announced it on Monday.  They had turned out the lights the previous Saturday.  So, let’s start this hot summer week in anticipation of the next college that will wreak havoc on its students, faculty, and community with another short-notice closure.

This week’s higher education news and commentary include:

1.      Layoffs and cutbacks.

2.      Another college in financial trouble is recruiting students from a closed college.

3.      An entire nursing faculty resigns

4.      Hampshire College continues to join the podcast...

This special podcast episode of 'This Week in College Viability' continues our focus on the financial health of colleges.

My guest is Jeff Spear, CEO of CFO Colleague.

Here are two of the many strong observations from Jeff.

1.  "Too many colleges are like a speeding minivan with no driver, heading for a cliff, while the occupants argue over what DVD to watch.  Indeed, there are many who don’t have a workable plan to address the known external forces and the ignored internal ones that will lead to closure."

2.  The deadlines for a...

My special guest in this podcast episode is Raphael Courtland.  Mr. Courtland has a long history in finance and in higher education.

We discuss:

As the competition in 2024 Paris Olympics draw near, we are sadly seeing competition for the shortest notice of a college closure. More shortly.

+  How To Throw Away A Million Dollars

+ Applications are not enrollments. MSN gets lazy.

+ Don’t mess with The College Fix.  MIT plus 1200 

+ Hampshire thinks a morsel of good news is a feast.

+ A faculty story:  bugs, birds, and bats, oh my.

+ Another ‘Is college worth it’ survey.  And how that impacts potential closures this Fall.

College Viability series of Apps

2...