🎓 Faculty Layoffs and the Collegiate Deathpool: Cuts, Classifications, and Cautionary Tales

In this article by Inside Higher Ed, several universities announced major faculty layoffs and program reductions, citing financial pressures and declining enrollment.

We ran the list through our Collegiate Survivability Index (CSI)—a ranking of 843 private universities—to see how these layoffs aligned with our projections for 2028. The results? Startlingly consistent.

The chart below plots Layoffs per 100 Faculty against each university’s CSI Score, with colors indicating CSI classification from Critical (red) to Elite (green). Schools toward the bottom and right are both vulnerable and reacting with major cuts.

🔍 What We're Seeing

Most of the layoffs originate from institutions already flagged by the CSI as at-risk. This isn’t just hindsight—it's evidence of structural stress aligning with our projections.

🏫 Projected 2028 Layoff Breakdown (with Per-Student Financials)

🔴 Roberts Wesleyan University

CSI Score: 0.42 (Rank 544) – Fragile
Layoffs: 66.6 per 100 faculty
📊 2028 Projections:

• Revenue per Student: $64K
• Endowment per Student: $39K
• Net Assets per Student: $107K
• Net Income per Student: –$1.7K
  💬 "Roberts is small and mission-driven, but the margins are razor thin. Layoffs this steep reflect a structural correction more than a financial collapse."

🔴 Malone University

CSI Score: 0.39 (Rank 680) – Severe Risk
Layoffs: 53.6 per 100 faculty
📊 2028 Projections:

• Revenue per Student: $109K
• Endowment per Student: $60K
• Net Assets per Student: $104K
• Net Income per Student: +$6.2K
  💬 "Malone has just enough gas in the tank to keep moving, but not enough to coast. These layoffs are a strategic shift—cutting now to avoid worse later."

🏠 Bard College

CSI Score: 0.42 (Rank 555) – Fragile
Layoffs: 47.5 per 100 faculty
📊 2028 Projections:

• Revenue per Student: $98K
• Endowment per Student: $152K
• Net Assets per Student: $88K
• Net Income per Student: –$196K
  💬 "Despite strong fundraising, Bard’s projected losses are massive. It’s not a lack of resources—it’s a mismatch of costs. These cuts are about survival, not stinginess."

🌟 Johnson & Wales University (Providence)

CSI Score: 0.50 (Rank 272) – Stable
Layoffs: 31.9 per 100 faculty
📊 2028 Projections:

• Revenue per Student: $900K
• Endowment per Student: $2.07M
• Net Assets per Student: $3.05M
• Net Income per Student: +$41.9K
  💬 "This institution is financially elite, but not complacent. Johnson & Wales is cutting from a position of strength, which makes the move smart, not desperate."

🟡 Linfield University

CSI Score: 0.47 (Rank 346) – Watchlist
Layoffs: 19.6 per 100 faculty
📊 2028 Projections:

• Revenue per Student: $70K
• Endowment per Student: $63K
• Net Assets per Student: $181K
• Net Income per Student: +$7.5K
  💬 "Linfield’s metrics aren’t alarming—but they’re not bulletproof either. A modest layoff now might save them from painful cuts in the future."

🔴 Saint Michael’s College

CSI Score: 0.43 (Rank 694) – Severe Risk
Layoffs: 12.3 per 100 faculty
📊 2028 Projections:

• Revenue per Student: $70K
• Endowment per Student: $161K
• Net Assets per Student: $199K
• Net Income per Student: –$43.4K
  💬 "The endowment looks strong, but the projected losses suggest storm clouds ahead. Hopefully these light layoffs are the first steps in a broader strategic reset."

🤓 The Bottom Line

This isn’t a coincidence. Schools making big cuts are mostly the same ones flashing red on the CSI radar. The good news? CSI doesn’t just explain what happened – it forecasts what’s next.

📏 See the full comparison table
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