College 3.0: Looking Ahead with Economic Downturn in Sight

Tech layoffs are rising daily, with about 150,000 among the world's largest technology companies in recent months. The current economic-employment turbulence is an opportunity for higher education institutions to turn around the conversation of the college cliff that is fast approaching. The poster presents a linear discriminant analysis to analyze the difference between unemployment data (USA versus World) during the last recession (2009). Based on those findings, we use the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Jensen's Alpha to uncover any abnormal returns (or excess unemployment) to determine whether there is an additional opportunity to recruit individuals pursuing advanced degrees. According to a survey conducted by Strada Education Network, 32% of individuals laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic reported planning to enroll in education or training within the subsequent six months. Given the holistic data, we find that there is an opportunity to market an Executive MBA Program to attract new students post economic downturns.