Colleges Face Double Jeopardy

摘要

IN THE TYPICAL YEAR at an American college, the financial picture achieves clarity right around this time. Offers of admission have been accepted by an incoming class, dormitory rooms and meal plans have been purchased, and returning students have registered for fall classes-but this is no typical year. With the outbreak of the coronavirus, college financial officers find themselves in an unnerving state of uncertainty. They cannot be sure how many students will return to campus in the fall and, of those who do come back, they do not know how many will shift from full-time to part-time status given their reduced financial circumstances at home. International students present yet another wild card. Since they tend to pay the highest tuition and purchase the most services, any significant drop to a college's international enrollment is disastrous to its bottom line.