By Michael Cronin and Jay Fedje, DegreeSight
The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Presidents Institute has long served as a barometer for the priorities, pressures, and possibilities facing private higher education. This year’s gathering was no exception, but the tone felt notably different. More candid. More urgent. And in many ways, more unresolved.
Across formal sessions, hallway conversations, and quiet side discussions, presidents voiced a shared reality: leading a college today requires navigating profound uncertainty while still projecting confidence, stability, and vision. The challenges are not entirely new, but their convergence, and intensity, has reached a level that few institutions can ignore.
Several themes surfaced repeatedly throughout the conference, revealing what presidents are actively wrestling with as they look ahead.
Financial Stability in an Era of Relentless Pressure
Budgets dominated the conversation, not as an abstract planning exercise, but as a daily operational concern. Presidents are deeply aware that the cost of doing business continues to rise while traditional revenue sources feel increasingly fragile.
Inflation, compensation pressures, deferred maintenance, technology investments, compliance requirements, and student support services are all straining operating budgets. At the same time, discount rates remain high, net tuition revenue is under constant pressure, and auxiliary income streams are less predictable than they once were.
What stood out was not panic, but realism. Presidents understand that many of the financial models that sustained institutions for decades are no longer reliable. They are asking harder questions about sustainability, margin, and return on investment, often while trying to protect mission, access, and academic quality.
The future, as many described it, is not just uncertain, it is structurally unclear. Planning horizons feel shorter. Contingency planning feels essential rather than optional. Financial stability is no longer about growth alone; it is about resilience.
Preparing for the Unknown, and the Unknowable
Beyond finances, presidents expressed concern about forces that are difficult, or impossible, to predict. Regulatory shifts, political polarization, demographic changes, public skepticism about higher education, and rapid technological disruption all contribute to a sense of operating in a constantly shifting environment.
What makes this moment particularly challenging is not simply the number of external pressures, but their unpredictability. Institutions are being asked to respond quickly to events they could not have reasonably planned for, often with limited margin for error.
In this context, presidents are focused less on perfect foresight and more on organizational agility. How quickly can the institution adapt? How aligned is leadership? How prepared are governance structures to make timely decisions when conditions change?
There was clear recognition that uncertainty itself has become a permanent leadership condition, not a temporary phase to be waited out.
Competition for Students Has Intensified, and Become More Complex
Enrollment competition was a constant undercurrent throughout the conference. Presidents understand that they are no longer competing only with their traditional peer set. Public universities, online providers, employer-based credentials, and alternative pathways all compete for the same students’ attention and trust.
What’s changed is not just the volume of competition, but the clarity of student choice. Prospective students and families are more price-sensitive, more skeptical, and more distracted than ever. The decision process is faster, less linear, and influenced by a wide range of signals, many outside an institution’s control.
Presidents spoke candidly about the difficulty of maintaining enrollment pipelines while also preserving institutional identity. There is a growing tension between expanding access and standing out, between being flexible and being distinctive.
The challenge is not simply filling seats, it is attracting the right students in a crowded, noisy marketplace.
AI: Curiosity, Caution, and a Desire for Clarity
Few topics generated as much interest, and quiet uncertainty, as artificial intelligence. Presidents clearly want to understand AI well enough to lead responsibly, but many acknowledged that they are still searching for practical and ethical footing.
There is curiosity about AI’s potential to improve operations, enhance learning, and support enrollment strategies. There is also concern about ethics, governance, academic integrity, and institutional readiness. Most leaders are keenly aware that AI is not optional, but they are unsure where to begin.
What presidents seem to want most is not hype or fear-based messaging, but clarity:
- What are appropriate use cases today
- What guardrails should be in place?
- How can AI be adopted in ways that align with institutional mission and values?
The opportunity ahead is significant, but leaders are looking for trusted frameworks, real examples, and practical guidance, not just tools.
Distinctiveness in a Sea of Similarity
Another theme that surfaced repeatedly was the challenge of differentiation. Many presidents openly acknowledged that small independent colleges often look remarkably similar to one another, especially online.
Mission statements, academic offerings, campus imagery, and even marketing language frequently blend together. In an era of intense competition, this lack of clarity makes it harder for prospective students to understand why one institution is the right choice over another.
Presidents are asking difficult questions: What truly makes us different? Is that difference visible to students? And does it matter to them?
Distinctiveness is no longer a branding exercise, it is a strategic necessity. Institutions that cannot clearly articulate who they are and who they serve risk being overlooked entirely.
Reframing the Value Proposition of a College Degree
Underlying many of these conversations was a deeper concern about the perceived value of higher education itself. Presidents recognize that families are questioning whether the investment in a degree is still worth it, and they are not wrong to ask.
Rising costs, student debt, mixed labor market signals, and highly publicized critiques of higher education have reshaped the narrative. Presidents are keenly aware that value must now be demonstrated more clearly, more consistently, and more authentically.
This does not mean abandoning the broader purposes of education. Instead, it means helping students connect learning to outcomes, experiences to careers, and education to long-term opportunity.
Institutions that can clearly articulate how they prepare students for meaningful lives, not just first jobs, will be better positioned to earn trust.
Recruiting Students in an Age of Distraction
Finally, presidents are deeply concerned about student recruitment in a digital environment defined by constant distraction. Today’s prospective students are navigating overwhelming information streams, shortened attention spans, and countless competing priorities.
Traditional recruitment strategies are losing effectiveness. Presidents understand that institutions must meet students where they are, digitally, emotionally, and developmentally, while still providing clarity and guidance.
This requires smarter pipelines, more personalized engagement, and better use of data and technology. But it also requires empathy: understanding students’ fears, motivations, and aspirations in a rapidly changing world.
The goal is not louder messaging, but more meaningful connection.
A Moment That Calls for Thoughtful Leadership
Taken together, the conversations at the CIC Presidents Institute point to a sector at an inflection point. Presidents are not looking for silver bullets. They are looking for insight, alignment, and partners who understand the complexity of the moment.
The path forward will require institutions to be financially disciplined, strategically distinctive, technologically informed, and deeply student-centered, all at once.
It is a demanding leadership challenge. But it is also an opportunity for colleges and universities to reassert their relevance, clarify their purpose, and strengthen their impact for the next generation of learners.