Emerson College announced Tuesday that it will begin staff layoffs following a significant enrollment drop it says was caused in part by “negative press and social media” about pro-Palestinian protests on campus. More colleges are preparing for the prospect of similar enrollment declines as a perfect storm of factors threatens to drive students to pursue alternative routes after high school.
In an email this week to faculty and staff, Emerson College President Jay Bernhardt said that the school is responding to an enrollment decline he anticipates will only affect fiscal 2025, but that budget cuts from loss of tuition should be anticipated for the next several years.
“We attribute this reduction to multiple factors, including national enrollment trends away from smaller private institutions, an enrollment deposit delay in response to the new FAFSA rollout, student protests targeting our yield events and campus tours, and negative press and social media generated from the demonstrations and arrests,” Bernhardt’s email stated.
The announcement came after Emerson College, like many schools across the country, dealt with pro-Palestinian protest encampments. Boston police adorned in riot gear put down the protest on April 25, resulting in the arrest of over 100 agitators.
It also comes after the Biden administration’s botched rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, application, which many anticipate will sink enrollment across the board for at least the fall 2024 semester. Since the chaotic rollout, there has been a double-digit decline in completed FAFSA applications.
“Many colleges are financially on the edge,” Adam Kissel, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, told the Washington Examiner. “Jolts like the FAFSA fiasco and bad handling of campus conflicts will send these colleges out of business more quickly.”
