미국 주립대의 재정위기와 코로나 19의 영향

State colleges and universities in the U.S. that have played a crucial role in American higher education are facing serious fiscal crises and challenges under the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Most state colleges and universities have already endured long-lasting financial imbalances and budgetary shortfalls primarily induced by the reduction in federal and state government’s higher education funding and have suffered from the resultant rising external debt and higher tuition and fees. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic wreck havoc on many cash-stripped state colleges and universities, endangering the very existence of the American higher education system. This paper traces and analyzes both structural and conjunctural factors that have contributed to the current financial problems that most American state colleges and universities are facing, and discusses what is to be done to avoid catastrophic outcomes in the area of both institutional reforms and education movements. The paper argues that the massive federal and state level financial investment for public universities as well as collective efforts (education movements) aiming at restoring and rebuilding democratic governance and academic freedom at college levels are imperative to overcome current challenges. The author hopes that the discussion in this paper can offer one useful reference for re-envisioning a long-term strategic plan for higher education policy in Korea, which has had its own unique social problems such as the concentration of socioeconomic resource and opportunity given to a few prestigious private universities operating within a rigidly hierarchical university structure.