EAB: Higher Ed Facing Confluence of Pressures on Sector
Josh Moody
February 11, 2026
A new report from EAB finds colleges are battered by political, social and market forces, resulting in a sector with less autonomy and tighter margins than in past downturns.
The higher education sector is increasingly squeezed by economic and political pressures affecting even the nation’s wealthiest institutions, according to a new report from consulting giant EAB.
The report, out today, argues that higher education is in “a new era of scrutiny and conditional legitimacy.” EAB finds the sector battered by social, political and market headwinds as it simultaneously navigates a more adversarial relationship with the federal government, a bifurcated enrollment picture, public doubts about return on investment, a rapidly changing athletics landscape and the effects of artificial intelligence on job prospects for recent graduates.
