Colleges and universities have faced a series of financial shocks for the better part of two decades, from the Great Recession to the pandemic to the volatile federal funding environment under Trump 2.0. In every storm, chief business officers have helped keep their institutions upright. But now—even as many express short-term financial optimism, according to the Inside Higher Ed/Hanover Research 2026 Survey of College and University Chief Business Officers—CBOs want the kind of structural change that might help their institutions withstand not just another crisis but the sustained disruption ahead.
More on the Survey
Inside Higher Ed’s 16th annual Survey of College and University Chief Business Officers was conducted with Hanover Research. The survey included 213 CBOs from public and mostly private nonprofit institutions for a margin of error of six percentage points. A copy of the free report can be downloaded here.
On Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 2 p.m. Eastern, Inside Higher Ed will present a free webcast with expert panelists to discuss the survey findings and financial leadership in today’s rapidly shifting postsecondary landscape. Register for that conversation here, even if you can’t attend live.
