Enrollment Cliff: A Leadership Fable About Transforming Higher Education When Survival Isn't Enough

Riverside University has 175 days to live.

With enrollment plummeting, debt mounting, and faculty in revolt, new president Dr. Sarah Chen faces an impossible choice: merge with a larger institution and lose Riverside's identity, or attempt a transformation that could destroy the very institution she's trying to save.

But hidden in abandoned databases, Sarah's team discovers something remarkable-10,000 "shadow population" students who started at Riverside but never finished. These forgotten alumni and their college-age children might hold the key to survival. If the fractured campus community can unite. If sacred traditions can evolve without dying. If the college can choose courage over comfort when a $40 million donor demands they abandon their values.

Based on real challenges facing over 1,000 small colleges, The Enrollment Cliff follows Riverside's desperate fight for relevance through the eyes of five unlikely allies: an optimistic data analyst who sees hope in numbers, a traditional provost guarding academic excellence, a Silicon Valley technologist learning patience, a CFO transforming from gatekeeper to possibility, and a president discovering that institutional transformation requires personal transformation.

This isn't just a story about saving a college. It's about what happens when any organization faces extinction and must decide: Do we manage decline with dignity, or do we reimagine everything?

"A masterful blend of human drama and practical wisdom. Every leader facing transformation should read this book."

"Finally, a leadership fable that captures the real complexity of change. I saw my own institution in these pages."

"More than a higher education story-this is about courage, community, and why institutions matter. Compelling and actionable."