Higher education continues to face challenges

I recently spent a little bit of time in Ann Arbor, strolling the University of Michigan campus on a picturesque Friday with my wife and oldest daughter. Outside of students enjoying an unseasonably warm day, the most noticeable sight was that of progress. From one corner to the next, I saw construction equipment, surely to fire up at an even faster pace once the spring semester concludes. Whether you look at the campus construction, the vibe of the students or the success of the basketball team, things appear to be looking up at The University of Michigan. But this is not a "Go Blue" column. I was also recently on the campus of The Ohio State University and noticed much of the same. Never-ending progress was taking place, constantly adding to the vibrancy of a happening spot. According to the schools, Michigan broke a record for incoming freshmen in 2025, while Ohio State grew to 67,255 total students. Both are in great position with the alignment of past, present and future. But nothing is equitable in higher education, and many universities and colleges are hurting due to a number of reasons, in my opinion the most impactful being fewer children being born and more defined post-high school paths that don't include traditional colleges. My alma mater, Central Michigan University, perfectly illustrates this. A regional public institution in Michigan with around 15,000 students and Division I athletics, CMU would never be considered small. But a recent headline in the school newspaper, Central Michigan Life, shocked me. "Central Michigan University's enrollment has dropped by over 10,000 students in the last 10 years," read the first line of the story. This is coming off a record high of more than 25,000 students in 2015. Issues of these sorts are happening in all pockets of education. Ohio's public universities are something of a mixed bag, with some growth reported this academic year for Bowling Green State University and Ohio University, but the University of Toledo and Cleveland State University seeing declines. Small and private universities are the ones most likely to struggle, and if anyone didn't notice, there are a lot of these in the Buckeye State. In recent time, Loudes University in Sylvania, Urbana University and Notre Dame College in metro Cleveland closed, while metro Cleveland's Ursuline College merged with Gannon University of Erie, Pa. Bluffton University announced a merger with the University of Findlay, only to see the merger stopped in early 2025. And recently, it was announced that Fremont's Terra State College was placed on fiscal watch by the Ohio Department of Higher Education, while its president resigned. All of these moments feel like ripples in the system. We're blessed to have a number of college institutions in our backyard. Just in our coverage area, we have Bowling Green State University, BGSU Firelands, The University of Findlay, Heidelberg University, Tiffin University, Ohio Northern University, Bluffton University, Terra State and Owens Community College. We root for them all, as they bring vibrancy to our communities and ready students for the world at large. Our newspaper operations have benefited from graduates from all of these institutions. But while governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's remarks received a few gasps with blunt delivery last month, they are worth listening to. "Look at the number of universities in our state," Ramaswamy said on a social media video. "I love universities in Ohio. I want us to have the best universities. We have too many of them. They need to be consolidated. And when you consolidate them, they can actually be centers of excellence who are actually the best in their respective domains, instead of trying to create replicas and clones of one another throughout the state." I can understand the frustration and fear from comments like these. But at their root is some degree of reality, and trends in all levels of education is something to keep an eye on. The tassels will keep turning and the caps flying at behemoths like Michigan and Ohio State forever. But expect fierce competition in all other levels of higher education as schools are going to have to be smart, creative and attractive to survive in their current state. Jeremy Speer is the publisher of The Courier, Findlay, the Sandusky Register, The Advertiser-Tribune, Tiffin, the Norwalk Reflector and Review Times, Fostoria. He can be reached at jeremyspeer@thecourier.com.