By 2029, the U.S. will lose approximately 600,000 college-age students, a steep demographic decline that will reshape higher education and the labor market. But the institutions that survive won’t be cutting the deepest. The standouts will be rethinking how their physical footprint supports recruitment, retention, and long-term resilience.
That contraction—or enrollment cliff—represents roughly a 15% decline in the college-age population and as much as $17 billion in potential tuition loss. Demographers expect fewer high school graduates and traditional college applicants well into the 2040s. Simultaneously, international-student numbers have experienced their steepest drop in decades, with year-over-year figures approaching a 25% decline. Families now weigh campus experience as heavily as academic reputation.
These themes echoed throughout the 2025 CACUBO Annual Conference in Louisville, where finance and operations leaders confronted the same emerging truth: in an era of compressed budgets and shrinking cohorts, facilities strategy has become inseparable from institutional strategy. These themes were explored in great depth in our recent Higher Ed webinar, now available on demand.
The New Competitive Edge
For so long, facilities management operated behind the scenes—reliable and essential but largely invisible. That era is over. Students now expect modern environments, flexible spaces, and seamless digital infrastructure. Parents scrutinize how much an institution invests in safety, cleanliness, and overall care. A single campus tour can convey whether the school feels vibrant, maintained, and future-ready.
Frontline workers have become part of the institution’s brand. Their day-to-day interactions and professionalism shape the lived experience. In many ways, frontline employees are the first ambassadors of institutional culture.
The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) has found that campus environment quality is among the top three predictors of student satisfaction. Multiple studies show that campus visits and guest experiences significantly increase the likelihood that a student will apply and enroll. Environments that feel welcoming provide an edge in attracting students.
“Doing nothing is the biggest risk,” said Tyler Emery, Vice President of Higher Education at C&W Services. “Schools that rely heavily on tuition are vulnerable to closures and program cuts.” Tyler added: “Every small interaction within the physical space is a branding opportunity. Investing in facilities management is investing in your campuses and their reputation.”
Doing More With Less
Presidents and CFOs consistently instruct school divisions to reduce budgets by 20% or more. Without data, those cuts often land in the wrong places. With the correct information, the reductions become strategic and more manageable.
C&W Services regularly experiences that dynamic. One institution believed it owned roughly 250 land and building assets, but a complete audit revealed 425. Another school located professors in three separate offices—all considered “essential”—across a multi-campus system. Its leaders joked that convincing faculty to consolidate felt like docking pay.
Since 2019, space utilization has shifted dramatically. Hybrid learning, remote work, and lower density have left many buildings underpopulated. With the right sensing technology, institutions can map real traffic patterns, consolidate smartly, and mothball the assets with the heaviest deferred maintenance. These cost-saving decisions also become quality-preserving measures, maintaining the spaces students actually use.
AI in Facilities: What’s Actually Working
The higher-ed sector is moving beyond AI hype toward practical applications—another central thread at CACUBO. Instead of moonshots, institutions seek real use cases that improve reliability, reduce labor strain, and extend the lifespan of infrastructures.
One example is AI-enabled audits of preventive maintenance (PM). Historically, the quality of PM work varies by technician experience. Supervisors can only manually review a sliver of completed work orders. C&W Services developed a GPT-based tool. Trained on O&M manuals, engineering libraries, and task lists, it evaluates technician notes for safety checks, root-cause analysis, and procedural completeness. The result is tighter quality in PM and fewer surprise failures.
Another compelling example? The rise of digital twins—3D virtual models of campus facilities that let planners assess equipment remotely and give technicians instant access to manuals, schematics, and histories in the field. Virtual-technician headsets connect newer staff in real time with veteran experts, preserving decades of institutional knowledge.
Predictive sensors round out the toolkit, monitoring vibration and performance patterns to detect failures before they occur. This reduces unplanned downtime and extends asset life.
“Technology is the exciting part,” said Ali Mohammed, Senior Director of Engineering at C&W Services. “But it only works when people and process come together behind it.”
Reimagining Campus Space and Unlocking New Value
Real estate is often a university’s second or third most costly line item—and one of its most underleveraged strategic levers. Optimizing the portfolio rather than simply maintaining it opens new possibilities for revenue and mission alignment.
Institutions of all sizes are exploring partnerships that unlock new value from underused land and facilities. Smaller schools, especially, demonstrate how creative collaborations can strengthen both finances and student experience.
Florida Polytechnic University, for instance, entered a ground-lease partnership to build the Citrus Center for International Fragrance, Flowers, and Foods. This facility brings corporate research onto campus while creating internship pathways and non-tuition revenue. The hybrid ecosystem supports learning, reputation, and the bottom line.
Peter Brohoski—who leads Public Sector and Education Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield— said: “Portfolio optimization creates new funding paths without compromising mission.”
Looking Ahead
The reality of the enrollment cliff doesn’t mean destiny. Institutions that show strategic discipline will create modern, compelling environments that help counter demographic decline. They will also reduce waste, enhance resilience, and uncover new financial pathways in their existing footprint.
Conversely, treating FM as an expendable line item will lead to aging buildings, rising complaints, and greater vulnerability.
If you’d like to go deeper, our recent Higher Ed webinar expands on these themes.
Ready to turn facilities into a competitive advantage? Start the conversation with our Higher Education team by contacting C&W Services.
