Funding for the Future

According to The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, more than 500 colleges and universities show warning signs of financial stress in two or more key metrics. Those metrics include enrollment, retention, average tuition, and endowment. The report also found that nearly 30 percent of all four-year schools brought in less tuition revenue per student in 2017-18 than in 2009-10. The data shows that COVID-19 has only accelerated a nationwide financial rut for higher education.

Just 4 months ago, UVM exemplified this struggle when it cut 12 majors, 11 minors, and 10 master’s programs. Because of this, Champlain students have been left to wonder if their college would face a similar fate. The Burly Beaver reached out to Champlain's Board of Trustees to ask about this issue and what plans Champlain College has to cover the 6.9 million dollar debt from this year. Our request was given to the president of Champlain College, Benjamin Akande.

In his response, President Akande said that “Champlain does expect to incur an operating budget deficit this fiscal year due to the investments we’ve made to mitigate the risk of COVID and ensure the health and safety of our campus.” Despite this, PresidentAkande told us that, “The College has built a solid financial foundation, allowing us to sustain our operations in the face of the pandemic. We are covering the deficit out of our own reserves, and working on many fronts to reduce the deficit in the year ahead… We continue to be in good financial health and are very confident that this will continue, without significant consequences to our short and long-term operations.”

Given President Akandes’s response, it seems Champlain College is confident in its ability to continue creating bright futures for students for the foreseeable future, an outlook that very few Vermont colleges and universities can afford in these times.

By: Colby Gunther, Garrett Brayman, Isaac Jones, Eric Burdick.

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