During last week’s NACAC national conference, I had numerous conversations with chief enrollment officers about what the future holds for private colleges and universities. There is a definite consternation about what the coming year is going to bring to everyone, especially in light of the economy. One veteran shared with his dinner companions that private colleges have experienced a boom and that the private college pricing bubble is about to burst.

This statement appeared several years ago in a Fast Company magazine article I came across. The president of Chrysler at the time was ruminating about how some of Chrysler’s best product development ideas came on the heels of some very challenging economic times for the auto manufacturer. There is no question these are challenging times for higher education, but for some individuals and organizations this is also the time for ingenuity, creativity, and innovation. The landscape of higher education may never be the same again, but the opportunities for new ideas may never be better.