, Columnist
Coronavirus Pushes Higher Education to the Brink
Long-simmering troubles at America’s colleges and universities are about to boil over, consuming debt-ridden schools and redefining the campus experience.
A quiet place.
Photographer: Philip Pacheco/Getty Images
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The coronavirus has already dealt a vicious blow to key sectors of the U.S. economy. If the pandemic drags on into the fall, though, it’s likely to devastate yet another area that has so far escaped with minimal damage: higher education.
The problems confronting the nation’s colleges and universities long predate today’s crisis. But if current trends continue, the pandemic is likely to act as a catalyst for a historic reckoning that may transform the delivery of higher education in this country.