Back in the day, I wanted to be an economics professor. The subject is interesting and varied. One thing that economics has at it’s core is the study of what people do in the face of scarcity. What decisions do they make? How do they react when something they need suddenly becomes more scarce?
What are universities going to do in the face of a scarcity of college-age students in the next few years? Vox had a good article on the topic.
It’s probably not a big deal for the prestigious schools. They get tons of applicants and, although they might water down the admissions standards some, they will have no problem filling their classes.
Where this demographic cliff is going to hurt are the less prestigious institutions that comprise the bulk of higher ed in the US today. The article talks about the plight of the many regional small colleges scattered about the US, but I worry more about the community colleges.
Community colleges are vital for getting people into the middle class and if they start to fail, the bifurcated society we live in will get worse. Without a solid local community college option, many people won’t be able to get ahead and that hurts us all.