This Week In College Viability (TWICV) for Sep 28, 2026

In this week’s podcast, I challenge the value of college rankings and the way institutions use small movements in those rankings as marketing victories. I argue that families should pay far more attention to measurable indicators such as financial health, graduation rates, enrollment trends, student revenue, and endowment strength. 

I also look at financial pressures across higher education, including planned layoffs at Commonwealth University in Pennsylvania, possible campus consolidation in Minnesota, enrollment challenges at Baylor, and enrollment claims at Bradley, Missouri State, and UMKC. My recurring question is simple: enrollment growth sounds good, but how much tuition revenue is actually being generated to produce that growth?

I also examine direct admissions in North Carolina, question whether college accreditors can truly be considered independent when their revenue comes from the institutions they accredit and remind families that campus tours are ultimately sales events.

My message throughout the show is that families need to look beyond rankings, marketing, beautiful campuses, and enrollment announcements and conduct their own due diligence. I’m not trying to predict which colleges will close; I want families to have independent data that helps them decide how much financial and institutional risk they are willing to accept before committing to a college.

Show notes:
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Commonwealth University plans to lay off up to 175 staff and faculty at Lock Haven, Mansfield and Bloomsburg campuses

Minnesota State may close campuses, merge schools in effort to 'right-size'

Baylor’s undergraduate enrollment level falls to lowest level since 2014