It's not easy being a small private college these days, a reality that Douglas Belkin digs into for the Wall Street Journal. In Belkin's telling, we're now in a "winner-take-all" higher-ed economy, where elite universities and big-name public schools are thriving while hundreds of lesser-known private colleges are confronting falling enrollment, deep tuition discounts, and rising odds of closure or merger over the next decade. St. Michael's College, located in Colchester, Vermont, serves as Belkin's case study.
The numbers are stark: Enrollment is down 45% in 10 years, and an enrollment cliff looms. Belkin reports "the largest number of Americans born in a single year entered colleges this past fall. After those students had been born, the 2008-09 financial crisis hit and birthrates plummeted." But St. Michael's isn't going gently into that good night. President Richard Plumb has been at the helm for about two years and is leading a turnaround effort.
The school has long had a fire department and ambulance department that draws student volunteers; he expanded it into a popular emergency services major. Standout stats—like the school's higher-than-average 80% acceptance rate into medical school for its pre-med students—are getting emphasized, and it's leaning into social media. The deficit narrowed to $2.6 million last year, compared to $12 million and $9.4 million in recent years. ""My biggest fear is that people would give up hope," said Plumb. But "people believe in this place." Read the full story.
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