EAB’s Higher Ed State of the Sector

Is your institution positioned to thrive in 2026 and beyond?

This moment in higher ed’s history is defined not by a single shock but by the cumulative weight of many. Political volatility, financial strain, demographic headwinds, and rapid advances in AI now reinforce one another, accelerating pressures that have been building for more than a decade. What once felt like slow drift has given way to a converging set of forces causing upheaval on four fronts: external accountability, financial sustainability, market relevance, and institutional agility.