Colleges & Universities Industry Profile

Institutions in this industry offer academic and professional courses and confer baccalaureate or graduate degrees. Major US-based institutions include public university systems in states such as California, New York, and Texas, and private universities such as New York University, Duke, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins; leading institutions outside the US include the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, both located in the UK, as well as the University of Tokyo and the University of Toronto.

More than 35% of the world's traditional college-age population is enrolled in a college, university, or professional school, according to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Asia boasts the highest percentage of the world's college students (more than 55%), followed by Europe (15%); Central and South America (12%); and North America (10%), according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

The US colleges and universities industry includes about 2,800 four-year baccalaureate and graduate degree-granting institutions with combined annual revenue of about $505 billion. Two-year colleges are covered in the Community Colleges industry profile. Business, secretarial, technical, and trade schools are included in the Education & Training Services industry profile.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Declining enrollment, caused in part by rising tuition, is holding back revenue growth at many US colleges and universities. Schools are competing more intensely for qualified applicants, and many are employing new highly targeted marketing strategies to increase yield rates — the percentage of accepted applicants ...