How will the “enrollment cliff” reshape higher education over the next decade?

With declining birth rates from the late 2000s now reaching college age, many institutions are preparing for what’s being called the “enrollment cliff.” Some regions are already seeing shrinking freshman classes.

For those working in higher ed (or closely connected to it):

• Are you already seeing enrollment impacts?
• How are institutions responding - lowering admissions standards, increasing online programs, expanding international recruitment, cutting programs?
• Do you think smaller colleges will survive this shift?

I’m curious whether this will fundamentally change higher education - or if the system will simply consolidate and adapt.

Submitted 2026-02-25T00:09:13+00:00 by TraffyKnows https://ift.tt/CqdtGkj