Smaller liberal arts colleges with small endowments? Yep. Several of them will fold. Even major universities are going to have to figure out what they are really good at and focus funding towards those programs.
Even liberal arts colleges with incredible reputations, Like Hampshire College, are in danger.
As for big universities, they face a twin problem in reconsidering support for the breadth of departments throughout the university. One: the liberal arts courses operate in the black and produce a net profit for the school whereas the engineering courses operate at a loss. Any reduction in liberal arts creates a funding problem for the rest of the university. Two: a school's reputation and prestige relates to the breadth of offerings, ESPECIALLY in the AAU. So--which school goes first and takes a risk with its reputation?
I know Canisius is moving more to becoming a pre-professional school by eliminating departments and firing professors, and I think that may work out well for them. They are risking their rep on a bold move to keep the school afloat. They also reduced tuition, but already students are reporting cuts in scholarship. This may be a map out of the problem for some schools. Become pre-pro for upper middle class students. But as for their reputation? It might not matter. For a bigger school it would.
