Debt by a Thousand Cuts - Kevin Kiley, Inside Higher Ed

As macroeconomic conditions pressure every revenue stream available to colleges and universities – decreased margins on net tuition revenue, diminished investment returns, decreased state and federal investment and weakened revenues form health care – the hundreds of billions of dollars they’ve racked up in debt in recent years becomes harder to pay back. With diminished hopes for revenue growth in the near-term, colleges are likely to see increased pressure to cut costs to cover debt-service obligations. “President Le Roy details exactly what the financial review discovered, in short, that Calvin has been living beyond its means,” Calvin Board of Trustees Chairman Scott Spoelhof wrote in a letter to the college last month. “Currently we are making adjustments as to how the college operates, and the board is committed to investing the time and energy necessary to create mechanisms for greater due diligence, oversight and transparency in the future.” http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/13/calvin-college-and-others-see-increased-debt-burden-revenues-falter