1、2026 Annual Higher Education Outlook Colleges&Universities at the Crossroads Forvis Mazars22026 Annual Higher Education Outlook IntroductionCollege and university leaders face a complex scene unfolding before them.For many,it appears as a crossroads.Financial uncertainty,diminishing public perceptio

2、ns of value,disruption from new technologies,cultural shifts,and difficult federal legislative focus all converge here.The potential congestion at this intersection calls for pivotal decisions to transition complex entities between the known and the unknown.This crossroads is the threshold where ins

3、titutional destiny may be irrevocably shaped.If that sounds overstated and foreboding,consider the Ivy League institution discussing significant restructuring to save costs and centralize previously siloed operations.i In addition,other Ivy League institutions face fines and settlement payments tota

4、ling between roughly$7 and$8 billion,and still others are facing federal research funding cuts.iiConsider a large public research institution that is eliminating over 100 academic programs across various disciplines before the 20262027 academic year.iii These are only specific or notable examples of

5、 what is happening in both public and private institutions across the country.The list of announced cuts,program reductions,and closures in 2025 is large and growing.And those are just the ones that have been publicly announced.Many more schools are quietly engaging in efforts to reorganize or restr

6、ucture.Still others are in closure or merger/acquisition mode.9.4%7.3%6.6%2nd consecutive fall enrollment increase in 2024 after decades of decline.Utah:Oklahoma:Mississippi:Indiana:Forvis Mazars32026 Annual Higher Education Outlook IntroductionTable 1Figure 1:“What the Looming Demographic Storm Mea