Colleges in Dire Financial Straits

[marshwiggle]

Update on Ithaca College: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/02/08/growing-resistance-against-cuts-ithaca?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=ba782277d9-DNU_2021_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-ba782277d9-236510958&mc_cid=ba782277d9&mc_eid=adf482cc60

Interesting quotes from the article:

Ithaca has part-time adjuncts, many of whom are losing their one- or two-class-per-term assignments. Ithaca also has a core teaching staff of ranked, non-tenure-track professors working on multiyear contracts. Many of these professors were recruited through national searches and -- under the premise of steady employment -- became deeply involved in curriculum design, shared governance, service work and student activities.

Wouldn't these invite lawsuits if the contracts weren't over yet?

Some 37 professors have already self-identified as having been laid off. They include colloquium coordinators, those serving on diversity, equity and inclusion and strategic planning committees, a Model United Nations adviser, Faculty Council representatives, one involved in Jewish student life and anti-anti-Semitism initiatives, an adviser to Students for Justine in Palestine who led antiracism initiatives, and the director of nature and recreation programs.

First time I've heard such a term used.


As always, this wasn't out of the blue.

In October, Ithaca said that it planned to cut its full-time faculty ranks by 130, in a COVID-19-related acceleration of a five-year plan and an attempt to bring the student-faculty ratio to 12 to one from 10 to one.

[TreadingLife]

From the article  "linked the faculty cuts to Ithaca's previously stated desire to shrink its target student enrollment from 6,000 to 5,000."

Why is an institution trying to SHRINK its way into the coming demographic cliff?

Have they admitted very academically weak and/or very financially needy students, so they are instead trying to pivot to a "stronger" student body?

Or are they just contrarians. If every other school is trying to boost enrollments, why not pursue the opposite tack.

[marshwiggle]

From the article  "linked the faculty cuts to Ithaca's previously stated desire to shrink its target student enrollment from 6,000 to 5,000."

Why is an institution trying to SHRINK its way into the coming demographic cliff?

Have they admitted very academically weak and/or very financially needy students, so they are instead trying to pivot to a "stronger" student body?

Or are they just contrarians. If every other school is trying to boost enrollments, why not pursue the opposite tack.

This would be my guess. If the student population is a Pareto distribution, the neediest 17% will use up a lot more than 17% of the resources. Additionally, if it makes some programs more competitive, (i.e. hard to get into, and so in greater demand), it could make those programs stronger in the long run.

I was also suprised by that goal.

[Ruralguy]

Schools are trying to boost enrollments from their lowest numbers, but most know they will never reach their high watermarks again unless they change the nature of their school
(higher ranked somehow, different mission, etc.). So Ithaca figured out that they will probably never reach 6000 (or not for a long time),  but if they've budgeted for that, then they are in big trouble. So, they were more or less squeezed into saying 5,000 is more realistic and publicly coming to terms with that.

[ciao_yall]

From the article  "linked the faculty cuts to Ithaca's previously stated desire to shrink its target student enrollment from 6,000 to 5,000."

Why is an institution trying to SHRINK its way into the coming demographic cliff?

Have they admitted very academically weak and/or very financially needy students, so they are instead trying to pivot to a "stronger" student body?

Or are they just contrarians. If every other school is trying to boost enrollments, why not pursue the opposite tack.

Or, they recognize that 5,000 is a sustainable number of students. That to go for 6,000 is more marketing expense and low-enrolled niche  programming that they can support.

[Mobius]

I read through a good chunk of the thread this weekend, and most of the discussion centered on LACs. How do the regional comprehensives cope with systemic enrollment declines that predated the pandemic?

Education and business aren't attracting students to the degree they used to, even though business programs tend to require internships and student teaching is required to get an education degree. My place needs to revamp its liberal arts curriculum. We have enough faculty to offer upper-division electives that are interesting, but no internship requirements for liberal arts degrees.

[Mobius]

Part of the community college problem when dealing with legislators is the legitimate question of why any students need remediation, particularly at college tuition rates.  After all, a high school diploma is supposed to indicate a level of proficiency in basic skills.  Paying for k-12 education, then remedial education at the CC, and than again for the same content and skills at the four-year institution seems like a waste of resources.  A good ten years of reform research for remedial education has not yet fixed the problem of people attending college, passing classes, burning through their federal financial aid, and yet still not accumulating college credit towards their degrees.

People aren't charged more for having "too many" credits in the federal financial aid programs, but changes in the past ten years related to adequate progress does mean people can run out of federal financial aid eligibility well before they finish that first degree.

In addition, one argument against gen ed requirements is paying for similar material and skills that clearly aren't sticking in some students.  That same argument of wasted resources on repeated material is harder to make on material that is clearly different because it's not taught to "everyone" in k-12.

Some colleges now have a surcharge (could double the price per credit hour) on the third attempt or more. Haven't seen a surcharge for the second attempt, but did not look, either. Texas doesn't provide state funding for students enrolled in a class for the third time or more. That also hurts students as they max out earlier than they should.

As for Ithaca College faculty involved in anti-anti-Semitism, seems to be a counter to the BDS movement, right?

[apl68]

From the article  "linked the faculty cuts to Ithaca's previously stated desire to shrink its target student enrollment from 6,000 to 5,000."

Why is an institution trying to SHRINK its way into the coming demographic cliff?

Have they admitted very academically weak and/or very financially needy students, so they are instead trying to pivot to a "stronger" student body?

Or are they just contrarians. If every other school is trying to boost enrollments, why not pursue the opposite tack.

Or, they recognize that 5,000 is a sustainable number of students. That to go for 6,000 is more marketing expense and low-enrolled niche  programming that they can support.

At any rate, they're trying to anticipate and manage enrollment decline, instead of hoping (or maybe just assuming) that it happens to somebody else.  It's probably a sensible strategy.  But it's going to have to come at the expense of somebody within their faculty community.  The ones facing the losses can't be expected to take it lying down.

[spork]

Ithaca College's FTE undergraduate enrollment has remained fairly stable at 6,000+ from FY 2007 through FY 2019. But a 1:10 faculty-student ratio is ridiculous. My guess is that there have been adjuncts and lecturers teaching the large intro survey courses with full-time faculty teaching tiny numbers of students in upper-level courses for majors that graduate single digit amounts of students each year. Probably the trustees and administration have taken a good look at demographic trends and has made the deliberate decision to downsize the organization, as others have commented.

I read through a good chunk of the thread this weekend, and most of the discussion centered on LACs. How do the regional comprehensives cope with systemic enrollment declines that predated the pandemic?

Assuming "regional comprehensives" refers to "public state system": a logical strategy is greater programmatic specialization by university. Instead of six different basketweaving studies departments at six different campuses, the major is offered at only one campus to generate economies of scale. This might delay or prevent the closure of campuses in a situation of over-capacity. But flailing about uselessly while the whole system is run into the ground is the more typical strategy. E.g., the PASSHE system.

Education and business aren't attracting students to the degree they used to, even though business programs tend to require internships and student teaching is required to get an education degree. My place needs to revamp its liberal arts curriculum. We have enough faculty to offer upper-division electives that are interesting, but no internship requirements for liberal arts degrees.

If I was in charge of the universe and could wave a magic wand, I would abolish my employer's education department. The returns aren't worth the opportunity cost. Occupational training for a low-paying career in a state with a decreasing number of children, difficulty retaining qualified faculty who are younger than 65, and practicum/student teaching placements require faculty to perform too many administrative duties in addition to teaching.

[polly_mer]

But Cost of Living is low, presumably with USA = 100:

Bethany cost of living is 77.4
           Bethany   West Virginia
Overall   77.4          78.1
Grocery   97.1           95.8
Health   97.5          106
Housing   47.4          41.7

Hell, housing is free!

That's the wrong Bethany College.  The Bethany College under discussion is in Kansas.

However, I wouldn't be betting on either Bethany College being around in twenty years if I were in the market for a new faculty position.

In related discussion, anyone who thinks an institution can't get 100 applications for a TT humanities position with a listed salary of $35k + benefits for teaching even a 5/5 hasn't been paying attention.  You're not going to get a nurse, engineer, or CS person for that, but a trap for the wannabe LACs is you can get good humanities faculty for barely middle-class incomes and it feels like the college could survive if only the students would agree to those humanities majors.

[Ruralguy]

The sad thing is that you don't need to be nearly that bad to be on the bubble. The salaries can be 20K higher and the 
teaching load lighter.

[polly_mer]

Update on Ithaca College: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/02/08/growing-resistance-against-cuts-ithaca?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=ba782277d9-DNU_2021_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-ba782277d9-236510958&mc_cid=ba782277d9&mc_eid=adf482cc60

Interesting quotes from the article:

Ithaca has part-time adjuncts, many of whom are losing their one- or two-class-per-term assignments. Ithaca also has a core teaching staff of ranked, non-tenure-track professors working on multiyear contracts. Many of these professors were recruited through national searches and -- under the premise of steady employment -- became deeply involved in curriculum design, shared governance, service work and student activities.

Wouldn't these invite lawsuits if the contracts weren't over yet?

Depends on the exact wording of the contracts. 

A contract eligible to be renewed every year for five years is different from a true five-year contract.  Many term contracts (academic and otherwise) have contingency clauses related to changing financial and other conditions.

As many even TT folks found out in 2008, the university can non-renew and even cancel multi-year contracts when the contingency clauses kick in.  The letter of appointment usually doesn't have all the contingencies, but the faculty and employee handbooks will have all the glorious detail.

[dismalist]

But Cost of Living is low, presumably with USA = 100:

Bethany cost of living is 77.4
           Bethany   West Virginia
Overall   77.4          78.1
Grocery   97.1           95.8
Health   97.5          106
Housing   47.4          41.7

Hell, housing is free!

That's the wrong Bethany College.  The Bethany College under discussion is in Kansas.

However, I wouldn't be betting on either Bethany College being around in twenty years if I were in the market for a new faculty position.

...

Same sort of price structure in Topeka, a two hour drive from Bethany. Housing is less than half the mean US price.

It is absolutely true, however, that dying places have cheap housing.

West Virginia, Kansas, whatever. :-)

[polly_mer]

The sad thing is that you don't need to be nearly that bad to be on the bubble. The salaries can be 20K higher and the  teaching load lighter.

The bubble for nurses, engineers, and CS, you mean.  Yeah, even $70k, benefits, and a 2/2  might not be competitive for those folks at places where good humanities folks will take the $35k for a 5/5.

[dismalist]

Texas doesn't provide state funding for students enrolled in a class for the third time or more. That also hurts students as they max out earlier than they should.

Speaking with de Gaulle about Bismarck: The trick is knowing when to stop.