A steady drumbeat of bad budgetary news has hit higher education: staff cuts, program eliminations, credit-rating downgrades, and buyout offers. One recent study found that a large number of colleges are “at risk” from a cash-flow perspective. Last fall, The Chronicle surveyed hundreds of administrators who work closely on college finances: Only 20 percent of them told us their institution’s budgets were sufficient to achieve their mission.

We asked 11 experts a few questions: How serious is the budget crunch? What can colleges do about it? What does it mean for the future of the sector and for those who work within it? Here’s what they told us.