The U.S. higher education sector had been fueled by three decades of sustained enrollment growth that extended through 2010. Both public and private investment flowed to the sector, and credit remained readily accessible to roughly 4,000 U.S. institutions. This access to capital enabled investment in programs, buildings and infrastructure to accommodate rising enrollments, enhance access to students and create a differentiated educational experience.

Since 2010, the sector has entered a much different era. Enrollments are flat, creating more competition for students and the revenue dollars that follow them. State and federal funding for public institutions was cut during the recession and has since been slow to recover to its historic levels. At the same time, institutions are grappling with rising expenses due to higher fixed-cost structures from the schools’ years of investment and growth. Moreover, many states are moving to performance-based funding mechanisms while expecting publicly funded institutions to look internally to right-size operations and focus on improving student outcomes. This is also true for private institutions and, in particular, smaller institutions, which are often more tuition-dependent.

• Mark T. Benedict - Husch Blackwell LLP; Kansas City, MO
• Douglas A. Greenspan - Keen-Summit Capital Partners; New York
• Thomas M. Messana - Messana P.A.; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
• Tom Santoro - GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group, LLC; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
• Lawrence E. Young - AlixPartners LLP; Dallas