One liberal arts college decided to admit more diverse, poor students and fewer white rich students. Then to make things worse, they decided to give the rich white students additional financial aid. Then, surprise! They ran out of money.
This article does not touch on the real problem. A new Massachusetts regulation says that colleges must have enough money to guarantee that they can operate for four years. https://www.mass.edu/bhe/documents/THESIS%20Working%20Group%...
"The resulting Teachout Viability Metric (TVM), ... focuses on an NPIHE’s ability to meet its teaching obligations to currently enrolled undergraduate students through to their expected graduation dates."
An NPIHE is a college.
In other words, if a college doesn't have the money to guarantee it can stay open for four year, it has to start taking drastic steps which will probably scare away next fall's students.
Hampshire never had enough money to make a guaratee like that. Hampshire has always operated paycheck to paycheck, with almost no money in the bank. But it wasn't a life or death problem. They managed to slide by decade after decade. But now, with this new regulation, Hampshire is required to take drastic actions including admitting a tiny freshman class. Hampshire finances were on the shaky side and heading down. But this new regulation turned a manageable problem into an existential crisis.