When Syracuse Stumbles: What the Business Model Crisis Means for Every Institution

Jeffrey Selingo's piece in TIME is worth a read for anyone in institutional leadership right now. When Syracuse, a well-resourced national brand, misses enrollment targets and posts its first deficit in years, it's a signal that volatility has moved well beyond the tuition-dependent small colleges everyone expected to feel it first. Between the demographic cliff and new federal loan caps under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the old assumptions about steady growth aren't holding anywhere anymore.

Selingo argues the fix isn't tweaking the existing model. It's rebuilding around adult learners, work-connected learning, and real transparency on outcomes.