The Big Picture: Gazing Into Higher Ed's Crystal Ball for 2009

This broad-ranging article by Amy Milshtein in College Planning & Management magazine addresses some pertinent facilities and capital budgeting trends, but goes wider than that, to curriculum, food, IT, safety, and more. Definitely worth a read.

2008 was quite a roller coaster. From an historic election to a worldwide financial crisis to yet even more technological advances, everyone, including today’s students and their parents, has been on a wild ride. How can colleges and universities cope and compete in the uncertain months ahead? College Planning & Management asked some experts to gaze into their crystal balls and find some answers.

“Not every college will be impacted in the same way . . . . [s]chool budgets that are profoundly tuition-based are very vulnerable. But even endowments are shrinking. They may not be the usual three to five times the annual budget.”

This lack of liquidity has schools making strategic budget decisions and yes, some cuts. “We have a major building project underway at Gettysburg and it will be completed,” related Fritze. “New projects will be re-evaluated.” She insisted that the academic experience should not suffer. “We just may have to get smarter in how we deliver it.”