Already rocky college finances hit hard by coronavirus

[TexasTowelie]

The already fragile finances of many of the state’s colleges are being pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Higher education institutions in Vermont were already facing an enrollment crunch that saw four colleges announce closures or mergers last year. The pandemic has since required schools return millions in room and board fees to students, incur new costs to pivot to online learning, and made it nearly impossible for schools to predict what the fall might bring in terms of enrollment.

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Moody’s Investors Service in March downgraded its outlook for the entire U.S. higher education sector from stable to negative. Education Dive reported the credit agency says schools face “unprecedented enrollment uncertainty” next year, since many high school grads might choose to opt for a gap year or forgo higher education entirely in the face of such economic turmoil. International students, a key source of tuition revenue for many schools, could also wind up staying in their home countries because of travel bans.

“As far as projecting through the fall, again it’s just totally unpredictable. Most institutions are planning on at least a 10% reduction in enrollment. Some perhaps up to 30%,” Susan Stitely, the president of the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges, told the Senate Education committee on Tuesday. The association includes all 11 of Vermont’s private higher education institutions, including Bennington, Norwich, Middlebury, Champlain and Saint Michael’s.

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2020/04/15/already-rocky-college-finances-hit-hard-by-coronavirus/