Administrative Bloat At U.S. Colleges Is Skyrocketing.

Basic economics tells us that when demand goes down, suppliers must reduce costs, cut supply, or lower prices to survive. That is the choice facing many U.S. colleges and universities starting in 2025, when the so-called “enrollment cliff,” begins. Between 2025 to 2029, undergraduate headcount will drop by over 575,000 students (15 percent) and, if recent history is an indicator, many schools will end up closing their doors rather than streamlining their operations.

The reason is that most institutions of higher learning are dependent on tuition revenue for survival. While a handful of elite universities (think Harvard, Stanford, Princeton) have endowments large enough to cover the cost of attendance for any student in need, the rest require undergrads to borrow on average over $30,000 to earn a bachelors.