University of Lynchburg Cuts Spark Student Degree Delays

Nalia Mutz, a 21-year-old biomedicine student, may need two extra years to graduate from the University of Lynchburg after the institution eliminated a dozen majors and laid off faculty in 2024. Her story illustrates a wider crisis, as a new Hechinger Report analysis of federal data reveals more than half of four-year colleges are showing signs of serious financial stress, with students bearing the consequences of resulting cuts.

Roughly 1,100 out of 1,900 analyzed colleges experienced enrollment drops in three of the five years from 2019 to 2024. About 1,500 colleges saw net tuition revenue fall in that period. The financial strain is leading institutions to cut academic programs and instructional staff, directly impacting students' ability to complete their degrees on time.

Tracking College Financial Health

The Hechinger Report's College Financial Health Tracker identifies institutions with warning signs like dropping enrollment, declining revenue, growing deficits, and shrinking endowments. The analysis found nearly 440 colleges reported ending the financial year in the red in three of the last five years. For students and families, assessing a college's financial stability is difficult, as private nonprofits are exempt from public records laws and often provide limited public financial details.

The Impact of Faculty and Staff Cuts

Faculty make up the largest portion of college job cuts. The analysis found roughly 960 institutions, enrolling 5.2 million students, had 75,600 fewer instructional staff from 2019 to 2024. Private nonprofit institutions that cut staff tended to do so faster than their enrollments fell, worsening faculty-to-student ratios. "The academic literature draws a straight line from student-faculty ratios and advising supports to what that means for students’ likelihood to persist and complete their college degree," said Justin Ortagus, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Tim Gibson, president of the Virginia conference of the American Association of University Professors, warned that replacing tenured professors with instructors who have fewer job protections could limit academic freedom. "Faculty in those positions tend to be very afraid of speaking out on matters of curriculum or governance issues, or pushing back," said Gibson. His organization filed a complaint in February 2025 protesting cuts at the University of Lynchburg.

Case Studies in Campus Cuts

Scores of schools flagged with financial warning signs have implemented cuts. The University of New Hampshire closed weekend dining halls, shut campus pharmacies, raised tuition, and laid off staff. Students at Meredith College in North Carolina are protesting layoffs they say led to fewer courses and the elimination of four dean positions. Rhode Island’s Johnson & Wales University cut 91 positions last year, with students raising concerns about dorm conditions and rising costs.

The University of Lynchburg's cuts were extensive: 12 undergraduate majors, 25 minors, five graduate programs, and reductions of 40 staff and 40 faculty positions. The university's enrollment dropped from nearly 3,600 in 2020 to roughly 3,200 in 2024. It reported a $2.1 million loss as of mid-2025 and has been placed on warning by its accreditor for failing to meet standards for financial responsibility and student outcomes. University President Alison Morrison-Shetlar told accreditors she is confident the university will reach full compliance by December 2026.

Underlying Causes and Future Projections

For most universities, financial troubles start with declining student enrollment. The share of colleges experiencing enrollment drops in three of the previous five years rose from 53 percent in 2019 to 58 percent in 2024. Public universities are seeing steeper declines, with one in three experiencing enrollment drops of at least 10 percent from 2019 to 2024. Experts cite demographic trends, public skepticism about the value of a degree, Trump administration policies targeting international students and research funding, and new caps on graduate student loan borrowing as contributing factors.

Robert K. Toutkoushian, a University of Georgia professor specializing in higher education economics, said the problem is likely to worsen. "Looking at demographic projections, with smaller high school graduating classes coming, it’s going to be harder for them to compete for students and get enough bodies in the door," he said. Some colleges, including the University of Lynchburg, have tried to boost revenue by recruiting full-paying international students, a strategy now jeopardized by proposed visa restrictions.