What's Behind a College Closure? with Gary Stocker

Join host Sarah Holtan, PhD, in a riveting discussion with Gary Stocker, the Founder of College Viability, LLC. As the looming specter of private college closures grows due to the winding down of COVID relief, Gary unpacks crucial insights. Leading indicators of an institution in jeopardy, including dwindling enrollment and tuition revenue, are demystified, along with lagging indicators like graduation rates and endowment size.Discover Gary's groundbreaking perspective on battling the economics of supply and demand within higher education. Throughout the conversation, his expertise underscores the critical importance of informed decision-making for trustees, faculty, and administration. His advice on harnessing data, navigating scholarships, and managing finances provides actionable takeaways.Whether you're a college leader or simply invested in the vitality of academia, Gary's insights could reshape your understanding of sustainability. Tune in now and learn how a consolidative approach could hold the key to unlocking the future of higher ed.Episode Highlights:04:43 - If we were to bring up the college viability app now, we would see an astounding number of private and public colleges whose graduation rates are significantly below 50% after 4 years and significantly below 70%. 10:01 - In higher education in 2023, we have way too many college seats and not enough college behinds to fill them. You cannot fight an economic law of supply and demand by adding a course, by adding a support, by cutting back on copy paper. You can't generate the materially significant net revenue needed from those kind of changes. It is more substantial business model changes that are needed.29:36 - I think the avenue is for colleges across the country, whether they have issues with closures sometimes sooner or not, is to start having conversations with legal counsel, start putting together conversations with the State Attorney General's Office and say, "Hey, if you don't want some significant percentage of private colleges to close in our state, let's start looking at how we can leverage the endowments to help save these colleges."Contact Sarah Holtan, PhDLinkedInWebsiteGary Stocker, DMGTLinkedInWebsiteEmail