The higher education sector faces looming structural pressures, chief among them an impending demographic cliff and widespread technological disruption. In addition to these forces, institutions have been confronted with tuition stagnation and high inflation, rising discount rates, muddled degree value proposition, and a largely fixed cost business model. This confluence of factors has begun impacting enrollment at some institutions, leading to uneven operations. While the approaching enrollment cliff will test higher education leaders in two years, even more pressing is the ongoing disruption from technological innovation – lower cost structures of online institutions including different faculty governance and compensation models, new competition from online offerings, and student demand for anytime and anywhere learning – which has driven many administrators and Boards to assess their institutions’ strategic positions and plans. HilltopSecurities’ higher education group has worked with clients to develop what we term Strategic Transaction Frameworks as the sector encounters a period of greater change and volatility as a result of this disruption.

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