MORGANTOWN – WVU’s Board of Governors learned on Friday that the university is not alone in facing the various challenges that have driven the controversial Academic Transformation process.
A State of Higher Education presentation by the CliftonLarsonAllen auditing firm echoed the points WVU President Gordon Gee has made to the university community and the press during the past several months.
CLA’s Don Loberg told the BOG, “Most of the time the individuals at the universities think their problems are local to themselves. … Your situation is not much different than we see at other universities.”
Loberg and CLA’s Chris Knopik outlined the challenges and some possible approaches.
They talked about six financial issues universities are facing. One is declining enrollment. Except for Texas and Florida, which are growing, other states are seeing their high school graduation pool shrinking, and that means colleges are competing for fewer students. The demographic cliff, from declining birth rates, is kicking in and the classes of 2026 through 2037 will keep shrinking.
Employee turnover and retention, and the nation’s growing skepticism about the value of higher ed are two more factors.
Then there’s what Loberg calls the HEERF hangover. The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund kept universities afloat during COVID, but that money is spent. “What has happened is these budgets have become upside down. And all colleges are scrambling: ‘How do we fix our budgets?’ … Everybody is trying to find the right answer to fix their revenue or expense problems.”
Also, universities have invested money in enhancing student life, to attract and retain students. “I call it the arms race, and you can’t stop the trend,” Loberg said.
Finally is financial sustainability. Over the past seven years about 100 institutions have closed and Loberg predicts 200-300 more will close in the next few year. “This financial budgeting crisis that higher education is seeing – it’s coming like a train down the tracks.” The supply exceeds the demand. “We have too many colleges.”
Knopik told the board that universities have four primary revenue sources. Two of them they can’t control: state appropriations, and grants and contracts. Two they can control to some extent: tuition and auxiliary revenue.
WVU’s revenue has fared relatively well, he said. Apart from a dip in 2021 during COVID, revenue from students has stayed in a narrow range, $531 million to $564 million. Most other schools are seeing their tuition and auxiliary fees decrease.
But inflation is making a dent, they said. From 2017-20, tuition rates outpaced inflation. Then in 2020-21, when COVID hit, it flipped. And from 2021 to present, while tuition has risen, inflation has risen much more.
With all that in view, Loberg said, “Making these choices now is going to save you another day.”
He outlined a few solutions. One is encouraging gifting. Another is investing in online classes. A third is wisely responding to institutional closures by absorbing students, staff and property from schools that close. And pursue greater collaboration within the system – sharing resources and students with other schools.
Finally comes university culture. “Culture is going to get you out of this faster than anything.” That means teamwork. ”Everybody has to be part of this success.”
Other BOG business
Vice Provost Paul Kreider briefly told the board that they are advancing in their plan to institute a more robust annual and overall program review process. It will more intentionally link resource allocation to enrollment and financial trends, he said.
The goal, he said, is to make the data available to everyone so faculty, leaders and staff can work together to keep WVU on track and make timely course corrections.
Kreider also said that they have developed the timeline for the Beckley and Keyser regional campus academic reviews. They will begin in January, with final recommendations presented to the Faculty Senates and BOG for the board’s April 12 meeting.
BOG chair Taunja Willis-Miller told the members that while they have been accepting public comments during their meetings about the Academic Transformation process, this was an exception to their general practice, in order to hear concerns from students and staff and the public.
That temporary practice will end, she said, and all comments must now be submitted in writing and sent to valerie.lopez@mail.wvu.edu.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
