Community colleges often rely on local millage votes for stable funding. When those measures fail, schools may be forced to cut programs and services.

One student set to graduate this spring has been unable to reach anyone about receiving her credential or accessing her transcripts to transfer elsewhere.

As seismic change continues to rock higher education, here are a few threads college leaders should begin preparing for.

Consolidation is not the end of an institution's story, but the next chapter in higher education's long tradition of adaptation.