Nebraska's Small and Private Colleges Face Serious Challenges Ahead

For all colleges, public and private, the next few years will be hard, considering that the number of college-aged Americans will stagnate or decline. Some refer to the next few years, 2026 specifically, as the “enrollment cliff.”

The coronavirus became one more impediment to higher education, and many students in higher education now don’t fit the traditional profile of a college student.

Tax forms for Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing and Allied Health in Omaha for 2011 through 2018 indicate no years in which total revenue exceeded total expenses.

Nebraska Methodist College President Deb Carlson said that is deceiving, however. The college provides free or discounted tuition, continuing education and other training for the affiliated Nebraska Methodist Health System’s employees, Carlson said. The hospital system covers capital costs and other things for the college.

Omaha World-Herald: Nebraska's small and private colleges face serious challenges ahead