This Week In College Viability (TWICV) for June 8, 2026

This Week In College Viability (TWICV) for June 8, 2026

From This Week In College Viability (TWICV) by Gary Stocker

June 8, 2026 · 29 min · Episode 221

About this episode

Gary Stocker discusses the decline of higher education due to layoffs, budget cuts, and financial distress at various institutions.

In this episode of This Week in College Viability, He highlights a growing wave of layoffs, academic cuts, hiring freezes, and financial distress across higher education, arguing that these developments confirm the industry is in long-term decline. Gary cites recent budget reductions and workforce cuts at institutions including Kent State, Colorado State, Portland State, the University of Oregon, and the University of Maryland. He also chats about some colleges that publicly challenge poor financial ratings from the new Forbes college financial grades. Stocker focuses heavily on Westminster University and La Salle University, arguing that their public reassurances conflict with enrollment declines, shrinking revenues, and reduced endowment values shown in federal and audited financial data. Throughout the podcast, he stresses that graduation rates and accreditation alone are not reliable indicators of institutional stability, especially when colleges face persistent enrollment losses and financial strain. Stocker introduces his related podcasts, Kitchen Table College Chat and Beyond the College Brochure, both aimed at challenging traditional college marketing narratives and…

People in this episode

Host: Gary Stocker

Topics covered

  • higher education
  • financial distress
  • enrollment decline
  • college marketing
  • accreditation
  • workforce cuts

Keywords

  • college viability
  • financial ratings
  • enrollment losses
  • graduation rates
  • healthcare degrees

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kent State, Colorado State, Portland State, University of Oregon, University of Maryland, Westminster University, La Salle University, Forbes

Books & works: Kitchen Table College Chat, Beyond the College Brochure

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