Higher education is struggling. Psychologists are navigating its uncertain future

[This article is part of the 2024 Trends Report]

The Covid-19 pandemic upended the economy and exacerbated concerns about financial stability in higher education. More recently, falling tuition dollars and the looming enrollment cliffopens in new window are forcing cuts or closures at many institutions, precisely when students need more support than ever. Those entering college today have faced years of erratic schooling and a widespread mental health crisis.

But students are not the only ones struggling. The majority of faculty report feeling burned out because of work: They face their own set of stressors, such as adapting to ChatGPT in the classroom and, for faculty of color, providing extra support for students of color. Meanwhile, employee turnover at colleges and universities continues to rise.

“Workers in higher ed feel like they’re being nickeled and dimed, they’re being overworked, and they’re not being recognized. What better recipe is there to drive people toward other jobs?” said cognitive psychologist Jacqueline Bichsel, PhD, director of research at the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR).

In a growing number of states, institutions also face the added pressures of political attacks on academic freedom, tenure, and university governance systems. Faculty are being silenced on subjects ranging from gender identity to reproductive health, while administrators are seeing their decision-making powers seized by politicians.

“What kind of an environment are we creating at these institutions, which have long been based on the idea of free inquiry and academic freedom? It’s frightening to think about where we’re headed,” said Afshan Jafar, PhD, chair and professor of sociology at Connecticut College and cochair of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Special Committee on Academic Freedom and Florida.

On top of it all, higher education may mean something fundamentally different today. With growing questions about the value of education, some potential students question whether they should even go to college. At the same time, coming of age amid a pandemic, climate change, and fierce political clashes has left many of today’s students uncertain about what lies ahead, said psychologist Kisha Jones, PhD, an assistant professor of global leadership and management at Florida International University.

“What is it like to be motivated, to be excited about your career and excited about the future, when things look so bleak?” she said.

Political battles across the nation have created an increasingly hostile world for academics. Those who speak in support of topics such as vaccinationopens in new window and racial equity have faced harassment and death threats; many are leaving X, formerly known as Twitteropens in new window, in search of safer forums or taking extra steps to protect themselves, both online and off.

Alongside the routine threats and harassment, academics are also navigating deliberate, state-sponsored attempts to control higher education and dismantle academic systems and structures that have governed U.S. colleges and universities for centuries. New laws passed in Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and other states limit or prohibit instruction on various subjects, including race, sex, and American history, and even seek to broadly restrict discussing “current, controversial topics” (PEN America Index of Educational Gag Orders, 2023opens in new window).

“Where I’m located, these laws create a lot of fear among faculty. Often, it’s easier to just drop material and avoid a controversial topic,” said David Strohmetz, PhD, chair and professor of psychology at the University of West Florida, who recently chose to exclude a section on sexuality and gender identity from one of his psychology courses due to concerns about the political climate.

A new Florida law seeks to undermine tenureopens in new window by reviewing tenured professors’ research and teaching at least every 5 years, while other legislation in the state weakens teachers’ unions and strengthens the role of politicians in higher-ed decision-making. (Several other states, including Texas, Louisiana, and Iowa, have also proposed legislation that aims to limit or end tenureopens in new window.) These actions amount to a coordinated attack that could ultimately lead to authoritarian control of the state’s education system, said Jafar.

“When you’re attacking governance at the same time that you’re attacking the ideals of academic freedom and free inquiry, you’re heading to a really dark place in academia, where people now have no means to fight the changes that are coming their way,” she said.

The laws are already triggering “brain drain” in the state, with more than one-third of the faculty at New College of Florida departingopens in new window since Governor Ron DeSantis began his overhaul of the school. And nearly one-third of faculty in Florida, Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina said they are actively looking for jobs in other states, according to an August 2023 AAUP survey of 4,250 faculty members (AAUP national release, Sept. 2023opens in new window).

“Those who are left behind are now forced to figure out how to survive in this environment,” which is likely to further diminish the quality of teaching and research in those states, Jafar said.

The instability of recent years has also left students struggling—and that affects everyone on campus. Some faculty have observed that students from the so-called pandemic generation lack basic skills such as time management that are essential for success in college and may have a shakier academic foundation than students who had a typical high school experience.

“There’s concern about the impact of the academic gap after losing those 3 years. Is this a blip, or has education at the secondary level been fundamentally changed?” Strohmetz said.

Student mental health also remains in crisis. Data from the Healthy Minds Study, which surveys tens of thousands of students across the nation each year about mental health, shows a slight positive change during the 2022–23 academic year. But 14% of students still reported considering suicide, and more than 40% screened positive for clinically significant symptoms of depression. Some populations, including LGBTQ+ students, report even higher rates of mental health problems (The Healthy Minds Study: 2022–2023 Data Report [PDF, 170KB]opens in new window).

Those concerning figures are impacting academic institutions more broadly, said Sarah Lipson, PhD, an associate professor in Boston University’s School of Public Health and principal investigator of the Healthy Minds Study. Faculty are changing the way courses are taught and working to connect students to services before they are in crisis. Administrators are rolling out public health campaigns, counseling services, and new support systems. Those changes are welcome, Lipson said, but can be taxing on institutions already strained for resources.

“The urgency around student mental health has infiltrated so many different aspects of higher education,” she said.

Meanwhile, schools are scrambling to adapt to a new challenge: how to handle artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT, in the classroom. In some cases, that requires reimagining coursework to preclude cheating and to help students learn to use ChatGPT to enhance—rather than replace—their own critical thinking.

“We have to take on the challenge as educators to find a way to weave that into assignments, so we’re preparing students for a workplace where there will be a shift in the skills needed to succeed,” said Jones, of Florida International University.

Those shifting sands put pressure on the glue that holds higher education together: its workforce. In a 2022–23 Healthy Minds survey of faculty and instructors, 64% of those questioned said they felt burned out because of work (Exploring Faculty Burnout through the 2022–23 HMS Faculty/Staff Survey, APA). Faculty who are women, gender minorities, or people of color tend to report even higher rates of burnout. A 2023 APA report found that faculty of color are expected to do extra “invisible labor,” such as mentoring students of color and educating their White colleagues about diversity (APA Task Force Report on Tenure and Promotion for Faculty of Color, 2023).

For staff, higher education is steadily becoming an undesirable place to work. Turnover during the 2022–23 school year was the highest it has been since CUPA-HR began tracking it 7 years ago (The CUPA-HR 2023 Higher Education Employee Retention Surveyopens in new window). Only about half of employees reported being recognized regularly for their work, and few received raises on par with inflation. The majority want flexible or hybrid work arrangements, but only about one-third receive them.

“When retention efforts are nonexistent, turnover is going to remain high,” said Bichsel. “Higher education institutions need to start positioning themselves as employers of choice, or they’ll be left only with candidates and employees who cannot find something better—those who have fewer qualifications, less experience, or cannot relocate for other reasons.”

Since the pandemic began, the financial model of higher education has been put to the test. Demand has dropped, but schools have struggled to cut costs without compromising quality.

That puts higher-ed institutions in a tight spot as they fight to survive and adapt. Some have moved toward a corporate culture in senior leadership, but Jafar warned that such a shift can also put colleges and universities at risk. Traditional academic governance systems—which move more slowly and typically include additional checks and balances—have an important function: protecting academic institutions from outside influence, including political attacks on academic freedom.

As colleges and universities navigate the stormy seas of financial uncertainty, workforce instability, and technological change, Jones highlights the importance of staying focused on the group at the center of it all: students.

“Younger generations have completely different concerns than we do. Do they have a chance to contribute to society? Will there even be a society for them to contribute to?” she said. “It’s important to recognize the impact that will have on everything in academia, from enrollment to engagement to what people choose to study.”