Online enrollment growth is outpacing on-campus enrollment and the institutions taking advantage of this new demand are seeing results. Colleges and universities have turned to a number of creative revenue streams to defeat declining enrollments, but expanding online has been the most prominent, popular and profitable.

Higher education student enrollments have been declining steadily in recent years. While the reasons behind the trend are varied, the impact on institutions could be fatal. Operating under lean budgets, universities are rethinking how and who they recruit, as well as what to do with the assets they have. See how academic prioritization and a new look at students are impacting the struggling sector of higher ed.

Regional comprehensive universities reduce barriers to higher education, while expanding access and impact locally and state-wide. Despite the opportunities these institutions afford, they’re facing a grave future of steadily declining enrollment rates that run parallel to changes in demographics.

The demands from modern students are changing the landscape of education today. With a growing number of nontraditional, adult students increasing, colleges are forced to accommodate, change and adapt, or risk the future of their institution.

Declining enrollment rates in higher education have been trending over the past couple of years. Now we’re seeing a record number of colleges have to partner with larger universities, sell off land and other assets, or even close their doors altogether in the face of a number of changing factors.

As we look into the next decade, there will be a seismic shift from the current shared view of our world from what I call the “3 Big Agitators”: 1. The First is Moore’s Law – this Law relates to the exponential advancements in technological change.