It’s A K-Shaped World

Economists used the letter K after the pandemic to describe an economy in which households with assets improved while those without worsened. The same letter now describes schools and universities, and few data points make the case as clearly as these headlines this week in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Carnegie Mellon U. Gets $3-Billion Gift to Start Miami Campus

Fort Hays U. to Close Museum

SC State U. to Cut 9 Programs

Bowie State to Lay Off About 20 Faculty

UPenn's Endowment Grew 27% Last Year

We are seeing the K-shape emerge at every level across the education sector. From enrollment to endowment, past success compounds. So do past struggles, just in the opposite direction.