ORLANDO, Fla. — Faculty leaders face no scarcity of challenges within the yr forward. They’re up in opposition to an unsure federal coverage panorama, challenges to worldwide enrollment and, for some establishments, working fashions that will not be working.
This week, high leaders attending the Council of Impartial Faculties’ Presidents Institute — an annual gathering of lots of of leaders of personal nonprofit establishments — shared these woes and extra with Increased Ed Dive.
They pointed to the finish of Grad PLUS loans, which will probably be phased out beginning this yr. Graduate college students may even quickly face federal pupil lending caps of $100,000 for many applications and $200,000 for skilled levels.
The U.S. Division of Schooling hasn’t but put out formal laws that outline which applications will probably be thought of skilled. However late final yr, throughout a course of referred to as negotiated rulemaking, the company reached consensus with a bunch of stakeholders on regulatory language that will exclude some main applications, resembling graduate nursing levels, from the upper lending caps.
Regardless of these challenges, school presidents additionally pointed to a number of alternatives resembling specializing in workforce growth, utilizing synthetic intelligence and hanging partnerships with different establishments.
On the final entrance, a handful of personal nonprofit schools formalized plans to mix up to now couple of years.
That features St. Ambrose College, in Iowa, buying close by Mount Mercy College, a fellow Catholic establishment. Likewise, Gannon College is buying Ursuline Faculty — two Catholic schools positioned in Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively.
Beneath, we’re rounding up responses from seven school presidents on what they see as the largest challenges and alternatives within the yr forward.
Responses have been evenly edited for brevity and readability.
President: Bryon Grigsby
Establishment: Moravian College, in Pennsylvania
HIGHER ED DIVE: What do you see as the largest alternative within the yr forward?
BRYON GRIGSBY: Workforce growth is the largest alternative. We’re beginning an aviation program, and it is as a result of aviation applications are in disaster proper now. Pilots are wanted. Folks work within the airways, within the airports, air visitors controllers — we noticed all the issues that have been occurring with that. That is simply going to worsen over the subsequent 10 years. So I feel all of us are concerned in workforce growth — actual, substantive workforce growth for our communities.
What do you see as the largest problem?
GRIGSBY: Funding the workforce growth. It prices an unbelievable amount of cash to create pilots. And the federal authorities simply restricted how a lot loans they will take out, which prevents individuals who need nice jobs however haven’t got wealthy households to have the ability to afford that.
We’re seeing that within the healthcare trade. You realize, not counting nursing and [doctor of physical therapy degrees] and [physician associates programs] as skilled applications damages the power of these college students to have the ability to get these jobs and to be contributing members to society.
I want the federal authorities would see that we’re attempting to unravel the workforce. We want the funding for the scholars to allow them to remedy that as nicely.
President: Valerie Kinloch
Establishment: Johnson C. Smith College, in North Carolina
What do you see as the largest alternative within the yr forward?
VALERIE KINLOCH: The most important alternative is deepening partnerships with individuals throughout several types of establishments, considering past the place we’re to suppose extra nationally and globally about constructing these varieties of partnerships.
What do you see as the largest problem?
KINLOCH: I might say the largest problem is a scarcity of assets. To maintain the varieties of instructional establishments that we all know we must always requires extra assets, and never simply funds, but additionally partnerships, expertise, and I feel these issues are going to be actually vital.
President: Donald Taylor
Establishment: College of Detroit Mercy
What do you see as the largest problem within the yr forward?
DONALD TAYLOR: We do not actually know in the end what the federal monetary assist price range goes to appear like for subsequent yr. And now there’s speak about, perhaps there’s going to be one other authorities shutdown.
My greatest problem proper now will not be understanding as a result of half of our college students are first technology. If the Home price range finally ends up slicing Pell by 25% and so they remove [Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program] and all these others, that is going to considerably affect first-generation, low-income college students.
What do you see as the largest alternative?
TAYLOR: There’s super alternative and willingness and curiosity by Congress, and all through the White Home, about higher leveraging and higher understanding how we will make the most of AI for efficiencies, for tutoring. There’s all types of prospects in our sector. The factor that we have been at all times criticized about was we’re means too sluggish. We’re like certainly one of these large tanker ships in Alaska — it takes perpetually to show, however I feel that is altering.
President: Amy Novak
Establishment: St. Ambrose College, in Iowa
What do you see as the largest problem within the yr forward?
AMY NOVAK: The unknown of the regulatory surroundings and definitely the affect it might need on graduate pupil loans. However I am assured we’ll work our means via that and be capable to be sure that our college students have entry to the funds to safe their total enrollment.
What do you see as the largest alternative?
NOVAK: For me, it’s about partnerships, strategic alliances and considering creatively about how greater schooling serves the populations that we all know must have greater schooling, and to take action in a means that reduces prices whereas increasing entry and alternative. I am excited in regards to the mergers, the acquisitions and the partnership alternatives which can be actually coming ahead via discussions that we’re having amongst schools.
President: David King
Establishment: Ursuline Faculty, in Ohio
What do you see as the largest problem within the yr forward?
DAVID KING: The most important problem, very merely said, is our enterprise mannequin not is such that we will actually meet {the marketplace} calls for.
What do you see as the largest alternative?
KING: The chance is to suppose in another way a few enterprise mannequin with out shifting away from the mission. That’s essential. Merger and acquisition is one reply to that query. How would possibly we predict in another way a few enterprise mannequin as a solution to maintain — not change — our mission, our core values, the target of our college students?
President: Todd Olson
Establishment: Mount Mercy College, in Iowa
What do you see as the largest problem within the yr forward?
TODD OLSON: With the federal context within the U.S., there’s simply numerous complexity and a few unknowns about how issues will play out at a time when greater schooling stays actually important in our nation, to our college students and to our communities.
That is the factor I am in all probability most nervous about — uncertainty round issues just like the Grad PLUS mortgage program, standing of worldwide college students, entry to greater schooling within the U.S. That constellation of points looks as if the largest problem.
What do you see as the largest alternative?
OLSON: As we’re coming along with one other college on this strategic mixture, we’re actually a part of a transfer to reinvent what undergraduate schooling — and in some circumstances, graduate schooling — seems to be like on this nation.
The possibility to carry onto the shared Catholic mission that our two universities have, the prospect to carry onto a central give attention to the well-being and flourishing of our college students, and on the similar time, the prospect to invent one thing model new, and to take some daring steps as our financial situations change, as our society adjustments, it’s a privilege and an ideal alternative to be a part of a second of reinvention. That’s one thing I am enthused about and optimistic about.
President: Walter Iwanenko Jr.
Establishment: Gannon College, in Pennsylvania
What do you see as the largest problem within the yr forward?
WALTER IWANENKO JR.: A few quarter of our enrollment has been international college students, and we have seen a major drop, which is certainly hitting the price range and inflicting us to do some restructuring to regulate for the loss in income and pupil inhabitants. That is an enormous problem.
What do you see as the largest alternative?
IWANENKO: With the change in demographics and the strain on the normal four-year expertise, I feel workforce, work-based studying, the two-year certification tech world — the place conventional four-year establishments have perhaps stayed out — I feel there’s going to be a possibility for establishments to begin to dive into that world, to actually attempt to diversify our pupil populations.
