College Meltdown: Where’s the Bottom?

US college enrollment has declined every year since 2010-2011 and public opinion about higher education has been plummeting, in large part because college has become unaffordable for working families. 

How long will this continue? Judging by surveys, and national, local, and business news, it doesn't look good. Further analysis of the terrain reinforces my opinion that the College Meltdown will continue for the foreseeable future.

• The College Admissions Scandal has exposed the dark underside of higher education. While academia may be in denial, working families are learning that this just highlights the tip of the iceberg: that higher education reinforces and reflects growing class and race inequality in the US. 
• Nearly one in seven college presidents say that their college may close or merge in the next five years. 
• Student loan debt is crushing Millenials. 
• College is increasingly a risky investment for lower income families. 
• USA Today has been reporting on the closure of Argosy University, its for-profit college allies, and the larger Higher Education Apocalypse. 
• Other for-profit colleges remain under the radar, but they are doing poorly. These schools include National American University, University of Phoenix, Ashford University, and DeVry. 
• Small private colleges have been closing at a faster pace. Closing schools include Green Mountain College, Newbury College, Atlantic Union College, and Hampshire College. 
• The higher education labor force, which increasingly includes adjuncts, continues to struggle just to get recognition.

Some investors in higher education may be hoping for an economic downturn, because the industry has typically been counter-cyclical. But this time, there may be no guarantee that a recession will improve the financial condition of the industry. Elite schools, for example, rely heavily on investments rather than student enrollment, for capital, and a stock market decline could damage their bottom lines.