During the Trump administration, a wave of economic, political and demographic shifts quietly reshaped the University of Denver. According to experts and DU professors, these changes are far from abstract. They directly impact students through reduced tuition aid, limited access to student loans, declining international enrollment and broader implications for Denver’s local economy.
Supply chain expert Dr. Jack Buffington, an associate professor at the Daniels College of Business and a CNN contributor vocal about Trump’s tariffs, recently spoke with the Clarion about how those policies are now reshaping the University of Denver.
“There’s a whole change in how universities get their funding. Research grants have been affected by Trump-era policies, and for an R1 research school like DU, that’s a big deal,” Dr. Buffington said.
Many federal research grants were reduced or reallocated, leaving universities with fewer funding opportunities.
Buffington also explained the goal of the Trump administration’s tariffs and their consequences: “[In the] short term, tariffs increase the costs of everyday items — students feel that when buying goods…” He added, “But long term, if the policies work, which we are not sure they will, they might lead to more U.S. manufacturing jobs, especially in places like Denver.”
While tariffs are often promoted to bring jobs back to the U.S., Buffington explains that they aren’t enough to revive domestic manufacturing. Without parallel investments in infrastructure and education, the job growth many politicians promise is unlikely to materialize.
As he puts it: “Tariffs by themselves are not going to create manufacturing jobs. There needs to be investment in infrastructure and education.”
Finance expert Ali Machado has three decades of experience in the financial industry, including senior roles at Citibank, leading his own bank and working in emerging markets. He now serves as the Finance Internship Director at the Daniels College of Business.
Machado highlighted to the Clarion how immigration policies, Federal Reserve decisions, demographic changes and inflation create challenges for DU student enrollment and university funding.
Immigration Restrictions Create Uncertainty for International Students
Immigration policies during the Trump era have created a climate of uncertainty that affects international students’ decisions to study in the United States. Recently, visas for international students were abruptly rescinded and then reinstated, leaving many unsure of their status.
Such unpredictability can discourage prospective international students from enrolling at DU, shrinking the university’s diverse student body. Machado’s observations suggest that these visa disruptions may have contributed to fluctuations in international student enrollment, highlighting how uncertainty influences student decisions.
Federal Policy & Loan Restrictions Make College Less Attainable
Economic policies at the federal level have made it more difficult for students to secure affordable funding for their education. The Federal Reserve’s choice to keep interest rates high, aimed at controlling inflation, has the side effect of increasing borrowing costs for student loans. When paired with inflation fueled by tariffs and the rollback of loan forgiveness programs, families face heightened financial challenges. Machado emphasizes that these combined pressures force many students and their families to reconsider the affordability of private institutions like DU.
Post-Recession Demographics & Policy Uncertainty Shrink Enrollment Pools
The post-2008 drop in birth rates means fewer students are entering college age each year, creating a natural decline in potential enrollment. Private universities like DU face added challenges as this demographic shift is intensified by political and financial uncertainty. Machado highlights that these overlapping factors make attracting and retaining students increasingly difficult, contributing to broader enrollment struggles across private universities.
Stagnant Wages & Inflation Reduce Student Purchasing Power
Even though inflation has cooled since reaching nearly nine percent a few years ago, real wages, or the money students and their families actually have to spend, have remained largely flat for two decades. This stagnation means that despite modest inflation rates today, students are experiencing increased financial strain in their day to day budgets. Machado points out that recent policy decisions have worsened this trend, limiting what students can afford beyond tuition and affecting their overall campus experience.
“It’s not just ‘how high is inflation,’ it’s purchasing power — what you can actually buy with what you earn,” emphasized Machado.
Concerns about inflation and the possibility of a recession have increased due to mixed signals from government officials, who describe these economic difficulties as temporary. However, rising prices at grocery stores and other everyday expenses are reducing purchasing power for students, faculty and staff. This strain also impacts the university’s capacity to provide tuition assistance as potential donors may decrease their contributions in response to economic uncertainty, which affects financial aid availability for students.
Amid Trump’s economic policies, the University of Denver is navigating shifting financial conditions from rising tariffs that inflate everyday costs and limit research funding to immigration uncertainty that discourages international enrollment. These factors are causing a ripple effect across campus. The additional strain of the Federal Reserve rate decision is restricting access to affordable student loans. Meanwhile, demographic declines result in shrinking enrollment pools, stagnant wages and inflation continue to impact purchasing power.
According to market experts like Dr. Buffington and Machado, these challenges are neither temporary nor isolated, but part of broader trends affecting how universities operate and fund themselves to support their staff and students of all backgrounds.
