The latest median report on public universities released by Moody's Investors Service does not have good news to deliver. As one of the most reputable credit rating agencies in the country, Moody's has been a veritable benchmark for U.S. higher education status and progress. Like the past few years, limited revenue growth from tuition and falling enrollments do not augur well for the future of our colleges.

The study has not revealed any new avenues that will bring in the much-needed revenue to campuses in the coming months, which leads one to wonder where they will find sustenance for their high operational costs. Then there is the matter of growing competition between all U.S. colleges and international campuses as well, which can add to the matter of money drain for universities.

Increasing competition has clashed with college affordability, becoming quite a deterrent for pursuance of higher education, especially during and after the recession. As per the report, net tuition revenue dropped by around 25 percent in 2013, for most of the regional public universities. While enrollment in public institutions has been tepid, private universities and colleges saw a definite drop of 20 percent.

As a result, colleges have been unable to raise prices and have to make do with their limited funds. Naturally, despite all measures taken, these figures are bound affect the quality of higher education in the U.S., which is already facing such a competition from emerging nations.

Yet the report is not all bad news.

Despite these rather daunting figures, the improving economy and healthier U.S. employment numbers have led to the rising demand for a more educated workforce. Simultaneously, the academic environs are seeing increasing demands for associate and master's programs — all of which can work positively to improve revenues and stabilize the industry.

Recovering household spending power is once again paving the way for more students to afford tuition, which means an upsurge in enrollment. Since the job market is improving, there is hope for better job opportunities for educated workers, which will act as further encouragement for both parents and students to invest in education. The only downside is that all these positive developments will take time to unfold, so stability will not come easily.

Therefore, more universities are considering alternative sources of funding to supplement the meager state funds and falling direct revenues. Still in nascent change, this wave could see more public institutions shifting to a private mode. While many public universities are looking toward endowment funds, Moody's analysts say that the future is brighter for the more market-leading universities that are exploring diverse revenue sources and self-sustainability to counter this growing disparity between revenue and growth.

The unpredictability will force these campuses to change their modes of operation even if such changes bring in further market pressures for the board and the college authorities. It is a survival game, and they have to play it to breathe through the inflation. Their operating expenses are only going to rise (by 3 percent at least) and with tuition already hitting the roof, there is little hope that regular American families can afford to send their kids to college without help.

But there is a demand for higher education and increasing recognition of how much value it can add to one's career as opposed to simple high school diploma. This long-term demand will create the premium for U.S. higher education, even if we see no signs of improvement in immediate future.