My opinion is that at the Community College level, change will occur. There is probably no other option, as I doubt revenues from the state, particularly CA, will rebound.
At the higher level, I believe what will happen is that some of the well endowed and the pricey will survive with the status quo, but will become even more limited to the ultra-wealthy and a few token scholarship recipients.
The institutions that are between these extremes will eventually disappear due to competition from innovative upstarts, probably using internet and computer technology to save on the single biggest and inflated cost: faculty labor.

Aaron, at least 75% of community college curriculum would not have passed muster fifty years ago as subject matter for 'college' instruction. What is the prospect for re-inventing trade schools more appropriate to the teaching of tradesman job skills?

Thanks for that expanded answer Aaron, but I'm still wondering what is or should be the role of a revitalized program of trade schools. Many of with my number of birthdays have seen the watering down of the undergraduate degrees over the years. Today a degree in a non-technical area is no longer a guarantee that the graduate has mastered learning skills necessary for the employer to go out on a limb, so the ante is upped to a graduate degree which in turn gets appropriately discounted. So what about trade schools?

First, I see them being easy to distinguish between academic and job training programs. The college degree has been discounted and cheapened as have a number of other milestones that recognized unique achievements by young people in education, athletics, and the arts. Most of such steps toward an egalitarian amalgam have been driven by political correctness and the need to bestow self-esteem at all times and costs.

The trade school track should be focused solely on teaching skills to earn what used to be called a ‘journeyman’ living, with no diversions to the attempt to make a ‘whole’ or ‘complete’ person. It would be taught be accomplished professionals in the field, the students would have to pass tests that demonstrate their learned skills, and the curriculum would result in a recognized certification of the student with the award of any related state licenses. When s/he hits the job trail, the certificate is recognized and honored by potential employers. The certificated applicant is at that point a known quantity, having demonstrated the mastery of a known skill set.

The instructors in such a curriculum would retain strong ties to their profession rather than become part of the education profession as it is practiced today – teachers unions, association memberships, ‘points’ for passing courses of dubious merit, … . Preferably, the instructors would still be practicing their trade and teach as an adjunct to their careers.

Many corporations already teach and certify skills required to install/maintain the products that they sell. And there are private companies who offer courses in certain trades. The community college could, perhaps, enter into special relationships with existing such providers and provide certain ‘umbrella administrative’ services in addition to its physical plant for the course venue.

Aaron, I’m not trying to design a new educational system here, but share some thoughts on a no-nonsense way of getting at least half of our workforce employable in the most efficient way. The local community college may serve as a harbinger and test bed for the non-profit service corporation about which I have written (Ruminations and The Union) and spoken. Today’s educational system is not cutting it, there is a mismatch between what employers need and what the schools are turning out. Awarding ‘college degrees’ by the bushel to young people who have to be trained by their employers is not the effective way forward.