UNITED STATES

Most university heads optimistic about future – Survey

US higher education administrators have mixed and even contradictory views about the financial future of their institutions. While the economy continues to recover at a sluggish pace, 57% of respondents in KPMG’s new Higher Education Outlook Survey said they expected their college to be in better financial shape in five years, writes Eric Kelderman for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

What the colleges represented in the survey did to survive the recession includes measures that have become standard parts of the higher education landscape. More than half raised tuition fees, 45% delayed capital projects, and more than a third offered more online classes and cut programmes with low enrolments. The survey also revealed the shifting priorities of higher education, with more than 60% of respondents saying that student retention and graduation would be a priority in the future. And more than 40% said their institutions would be focusing on online learning.
Full report on The Chronicle of Higher Education site