Miriam Nelson, president of Hampshire College, talks at press conference about the possibility of a potential long term sustainability partner because of finical difficulties at the college.
Miriam Nelson, president of Hampshire College, talks at press conference about the possibility of a potential long term sustainability partner because of finical difficulties at the college. Credit: STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

The financial problems at Hampshire College raise an interesting general issue. Hampshire was established by the other colleges specifically to introduce innovative approaches to liberal arts education, and the college would claim that it has succeeded in that respect which justifies its continued existence despite its shoestring finances.

There are, however, numerous private (and some public) colleges in the United States which have similarly bleak financial situations and no such educational claim to continued existence. They are remnants of the laissez faire approach to higher education which dominated the country in the 19th century. A large number of them justified themselves through their attachments to religious bodies which no longer are able to provide any financial support or low-cost staff, and the small size of most means that they are inherently inefficient and costly. Their current model is to shift educational emphasis to vocational subjects taught by adjunct staff and to finance this dismal mix by loading their students with unaffordable debt.

In 2000, I prepared a study on the history of financing American higher education for a European academic group. It was evident then that the continued existence of so many smaller colleges was one of the reasons why the USA has the highest costs for higher education in world. It was also clear then that financial developments in the private college sector were structurally unfavorable with a few well-endowed institutions such as Amherst rapidly increasing the wealth gap over poorly endowed institutions such as Hampshire.

As far as I can see, nothing has changed since then. As with failing companies in the private economic sector, some “creative destruction” is needed, and more colleges need to close, far more than is currently the case. This is very hard on all of their constituencies including their communities and needs to be managed intelligently and sensitively. Hampshire’s situation appears far better than most, but the experience of Antioch College in remaking itself is not entirely encouraging.

Carl I. Hammer
Easthampton