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Can Colleges And Universities Survive The Pandemic? : 1A Many schools that were financially stressed going into the pandemic might not come out of it, says Fred Lawrence, CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

"Once you put the nose of the plane down, you can't always pull out of that dive," he says, about a school's financial management.

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1A

Can Colleges And Universities Survive The Pandemic?

Can Colleges And Universities Survive The Pandemic?

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Students wait in line for registration and an identifying wristband after receiving a negative test result for coronavirus while arriving on campus at Colorado University in Boulder, Colorado. Mark Makela/Mark Makela/Getty Images hide caption

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Mark Makela/Mark Makela/Getty Images

Students wait in line for registration and an identifying wristband after receiving a negative test result for coronavirus while arriving on campus at Colorado University in Boulder, Colorado.

Mark Makela/Mark Makela/Getty Images

American businesses are in crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher education is no exception.

Campuses that didn't reopen risk losing students to colleges that did. Lawsuits and petitions from students demand lower tuition for online classes. And no students means no money from housing, dining, bookstores and other campus services.

But even before the pandemic, college seemed to be losing its appeal. In a 2018 survey by the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of Americans said they believe higher education is headed in the wrong direction.

Can colleges survive the financial hit from COVID-19? And can they make the case to students and parents that they really are essential?

We addressed these questions and more with Frederick Lawrence, CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Bryan Alexander, education futurist and author of "Academia Next: The Futures of Higher Education" and Lilah Burke, general assignment reporter at Inside Higher Ed.

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