Clark Universities announced on June 3 that they were cutting 30% of their faculty because of a ‘financial challenges and a dramatically reduced incoming [first year] class.” This is a startling turn of events for a university with a strong academic reputation and financial reserves. If Clark feels the pain of the demographic cliff in 2025, which was supposed to be a safe year, then all private colleges, especially tuition-dependent colleges, need to take notice.
Private colleges in states with student markets that are forecast to encounter the full effects of the demographic cliff within the next two years, cannot wait to take action. They need to immediately develop a strategic plan They cannot wait until they are over the side of the demographic cliff because their financial reserves will quickly shrink to zero.
Regrettably, too many private colleges tend to operate within a bubble with their focus only on the current year and the next budget year. The demographic shift will be so calamitous that delay will be a trap as they lose their financial flexibility.