Redefining Resilience: A Financial Wake-Up Call for Independent Institutions

For many independent colleges, the notion of “resilience” has long conjured images of tradition, legacy, and steadfast leadership. But in 2026, that definition is due for a rewrite.

At this year’s CIC Presidents Institute, I joined a powerful workshop alongside fellow higher ed leaders and strategists to confront a hard truth: the pressures facing small and mid-sized private institutions are no longer theoretical. They’re here, and they’re intensifying.

It’s time to meet this moment not with tweaks around the edges, but with bold, informed action.

A financial picture that’s tough to ignore

Paul Friga, a trusted strategist in higher ed finance, shared a sobering overview of the economic reality. Consider just a few of the trends:

• Undergraduate enrollment remains 15% below 2010 levels, despite a modest recent bump primarily driven by community colleges.
• The sector has added more capacity than it can fill, resulting in an estimated 3–5 million excess seats, and an annual cost of up to $50 billion to maintain them.
• Independent institutions with under 5,000 students are among the most vulnerable, with many operating in a “danger zone” marked by financial fragility.

Meanwhile, legacy cost structures, declining demographics, and fragmented strategies are making it harder for leaders to balance the books, let alone invest in the future.

Single solutions won’t save us

What’s clear from the data — and from conversations with dozens of presidents — is that no one lever alone will restore financial sustainability. Not another round of cost-cutting. Not a new marketing campaign. Not even a promising program launch.

Real resilience requires coordinated action across three interconnected dimensions:

• Revenue growth, rooted in programs that align with workforce demand and nontraditional learner needs.
• Cost optimization, through more efficient tech systems, staffing structures, and academic portfolios.
• Execution discipline, ensuring initiatives are prioritized, resourced, and tracked with the right accountability frameworks.

Together, these dimensions form a practical roadmap, and they align closely with what we’ve seen in our work with institutions across the country. Those that adopt a multi-lever approach are better positioned to move beyond crisis response and build a more sustainable, mission-aligned future.

What independent institutions must do now

During our session, I spoke about how Collegis partners are navigating these challenges with clarity and purpose. Institutions that are making meaningful progress are focusing on a set of clear, coordinated actions:

• Build transparency and alignment. Sharing financial and enrollment realities across campus fosters a culture of shared responsibility. When faculty and staff understand the stakes, they become part of the solution.
• Use faster financial signals to guide decisions. Tracking indicators like net tuition revenue, tuition discount rate drift, retention risk by term, and cost per student on a monthly basis equips leaders to act quickly — protecting 1 to 3 percent of net revenue.
• Prioritize based on ROI. Reassess low-enrolled courses, identify programs with strong demand and sustainable margins, and shift resources accordingly. Transparent, data-informed decisions strengthen both financial health and mission delivery.
• Simplify the student experience. Complexity increases both expense and attrition. Streamlining high-friction processes, reducing redundant technologies, and eliminating manual workarounds can save $500 to $1,500 per student and improve retention.
• Assign ownership for retention. Student success requires more than good intentions. Giving executive-level leaders visibility into open student issues, resolution timelines, and effective intervention can lead to retention gains of 2 to 3 percent.
• Eliminate overlap and inefficiency. Marketing and enrollment operations often reveal duplication and misalignment. Consolidating efforts and focusing on conversion can yield higher impact at lower cost.
• Start small and move fast. Institutions that limit focus to a few initiatives with clear ownership drive early wins and build lasting momentum.
• Choose the right partner. Independent colleges don’t have to go it alone. Strategic partners bring the scale, data infrastructure, and experience to accelerate transformation without sacrificing institutional identity — and can help reduce fixed costs by 5 to 10 percent or more.

Resilience requires reinvention, not routine

True resilience isn’t about weathering storms using the same tools and tactics. It means rethinking how we operate, how we lead, and where we invest. That shift must be driven by urgency and clarity.

Independent institutions have always played a transformative role in higher education. To continue that legacy, leaders need a new approach. The greatest risk now is standing still.

Those willing to rethink, realign, and act with purpose won’t just survive — they’ll help shape a stronger, more sustainable future while still protecting their mission.