International Student Decline Hits Our Bottom Line with Tom Dretler

Did you know a 20% drop in international students could wipe out nearly $2 billion in college tuition in just a year? The financial pain universities are feeling right now isn’t just about bottom lines, it's about fewer programs, job losses on campus and in local communities, and a shrinking workforce for the future. In this episode, Tom Dretler, CEO and co-founder of Shorelight Education, breaks down exactly what this revenue cliff means and why colleges can't afford to keep waiting for old models to work.Can universities reinvent themselves fast enough to protect students, faculty, and towns when international enrollments plummet? Find out what Tom recommends for leaders facing their toughest year yet.Featuring Tom Dretler, CEO of Shorelight Education, on the true impact of plummeting international enrollments, and the urgent strategies colleges need now.Episode Highlights03:51 - We have a $56 billion services trade surplus in higher education, which makes up, believe it or not, 20% of the entire US economy's services trade surplus.10:12 - International students do subsidize domestic students. So in the short term going to see canceled programs, we're going to see staff reductions, we're going to see less programmatic offerings, we'll probably see rising tuition prices, and we're going to see universities, as I mentioned, starting to look at one, can they be successful with international students going forward? Is there a new normal? And let's just adapt to the new normal.20:54 - We're so domestic. But anyway, bright spots there are, you know, the cliche being that whenever there's massive change that there are always opportunities for innovation.Sarah Holtan, PhDLinkedInTom DretlerLinkedInWebsiteThe Impact of a 20% Decline in International Students