Colleges & Universities
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 3,000 colleges and universities in the US provide post-secondary education and award degrees to students who have developed expertise in a specific field of study. Colleges and universities include public, private non-profit, and for-profit institutions.
Tuition Increases Jeopardize Affordability
College tuition continues to grow faster than inflation and family income, making higher education less affordable.
Volatility in Government Funding
During tough economic times, state and local governments typically reduce budgets and may cut support for higher education, forcing schools to rely on tuition increases or other sources to fund the shortfall.
Industry size & Structure
A typical four-year college employs about 680 workers and generates $231 million annually. A typical junior or community college employs about 119 workers and generates $43 million annually.
- The US has 3,000 colleges and universities which employ over 1,750,000 workers and generate about $665 billion annually.
- Colleges and universities include public, private nonprofit, and for-profit institutions.
- While enrollment can vary significantly, public colleges average about 8,900 students while private colleges average about 2,100 students. Large institutions have enrollments of 40,000 students or more.
- Institutions with the largest enrollments include The University of Phoenix's Online Campus, Arizona State University, Ohio State University, and the University of Central Florida.
Industry Forecast
Colleges & Universities Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 14, 2024 - Purchasing Power Of Aid Programs Decreases
- The purchasing power of federal financial aid programs such as the Pell Grant, which once covered a substantial portion of college costs, has eroded, according to The Center for American Progress. More students have had to take on larger debts to attend college, to the detriment of their financial futures. These economic pressures make it increasingly difficult for contemporary students to focus solely on their studies, leading to higher dropout rates and longer time to degree completion for those who manage to stay enrolled.
- Selective colleges and universities are seeing compelling data from their recent test-optional classes that they believe reinforces the value of standardized testing, according to Hafeez Lakhani, founder of Lakhani Coaching. The data suggests that standardized testing may have more value than a high school GPA in predicting undergraduate success, according to Lakhani. Stanford University’s website notes, “Performance on standardized tests is an important predictor of academic performance at Stanford, a review by the faculty Committee on Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid has confirmed.” Some experts believe more highly-ranked universities will go back to requiring standardized tests as an assessment metric, especially as selective schools experience record-high application volume alongside record-low acceptance rates, according to Forbes.
- Elite higher education institutions — selective schools that draw from national applicant pools — will still be able to fill classes with qualified students when an expected multiyear decline in the number of traditional-age college students begins, according to Carleton College professor Nathan Grawe, author of Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education. Less prestigious four-year colleges and two-year colleges, which tend to draw students living locally, will suffer most from the so-called "demographic cliff". The consensus view is that America will hit a peak of around 3.5 million high-school graduates sometime near 2025, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. The college-going population is then expected to shrink across the following five to 10 years by as many as 15 percentage points. Decreasing enrollment is problematic because most schools depend heavily on tuition, so the finances of a college that has fewer students than it is capable of serving are negatively impacted. Ernst and Young’s consulting arm EY Parthenon estimated in 2020 that excess capacity at US postsecondary schools is costing schools between $27 billion and $51 billion annually. Schools often raise tuition or decrease offerings to cover the deficit. Schools that are financially unstable are more likely to shut down.
- College and university industry employment has rebounded and was near pre-pandemic levels in late-2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. College and university industry revenue is forecast to grow at a 3.64% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Sources of revenue include tuition and fees; federal, state and local government funding; auxiliary enterprises (dorms, bookstores); endowment income; investment return, gifts and grants; and contracts.
Get A Demo
Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform
See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.
Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
check out Vertical IQ today.