Pandemic impact called widespread
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented colleges and universities with financial challenges that will likely extend for multiple years and may not be sustainable for all institutions, heads of public and private
“We don’t view this as a one-year deal,” University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan told the Higher Education Committee. “We view this as a two- to three- to fouryear deal, and I will say Madam Chairman, there are universities and colleges in New England who won’t survive this. What we’re trying to do at UMass is make sure at the end of this crisis that we still have five UMass campuses that are all nationally ranked and that are successful.”
The committee, chaired by Sen. Anne Gobi and Rep. Jeff Roy, heard virtual testimony from state education officials, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and heads of community colleges and private and public universities for an update on the field’s status amid the economic and logistical disruption of the pandemic.
Gobi, a Spencer Democrat, said the higher education sector has displayed “the patience of Job through all this but also the flexibility of Gumby,” and Roy described the role that higher education plays in the state’s economy.
The Franklin Democrat said colleges and universities employ 136,000 Massachusetts residents, spend over $24.5 billion annually, and educate 500,000 students.
Colleges and universities across Massachusetts sent their students home in March as COVID-19 first took hold in the state, and many are continuing with remote learning this semester or have only allowed small numbers of students back on campus, with COVID-19 testing systems now in place.
The combination of new pandemic-related costs and the loss of revenue from room, board and other charges associated with having students on campus has put a squeeze on finances and jobs across higher education.
Education Secretary Peyser said many institutions are dipping into their reserves, cutting spending, or both because of new costs associated with COVID-19 adaptations combined with the “impact of long-term demographic trends, which are having a significant effect on enrollment and tuition revenue.”
The pandemic’s enrollment impacts appear to be playing out differently across institutions.
UMass Lowell announced Tuesday that it had welcomed its largest student body ever this fall, consisting of 18,394 students. And Middlesex Community College President James Mabry said some students are choosing to take lower-priced classes closer to home in the state’s community college system, with plans to later transfer to a four-year school.
State university enrollment is down over last year, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts President James Birge said, and history suggests “a multi-year emergence from this decline is likely.”
Wellesley College President Dr. Paula Johnson, who testified on behalf of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts, said the private schools have seen a significant number of students decide to take gap years, and international student numbers have also dropped off. Meanwhile, she said, costs for testing and other pandemic responses are ongoing.
“This is a grave time for a number of both privates, and I think it’s also really for publics,” Johnson said.