This is a very good question.
1) These changes have been in the works for years. We long ago should have been encouraging a culture that it is just fine to go get a high paying job. Rather than continue the culture of "go volunteer for the Red Cross" or do Teach for America. Pro Humanitate. Business folks are greedy pigs. That culture still permeates our administration.
2) We need to encourage our doctorate professors to do research--rather than teach at all costs. If we want to be a major University, we have to be that.
3) We needed significant raises to hire these folks to do research. We have long had the money.
4) Get teachers who can teach and let them teach -- not doctorate folks. No one cares and hasn't for decades if their professor has a doctorate. They care if they can speak English. Dr. Broyles was so qualified. He also couldn't teach and frankly could barely speak--like so many of these tenured folks we let sit around and drool all over kids in Tribble. We need young and hungry.
5) We should have let in low income folks for years. We knew that change was on the horizon. And quite frankly it was good for diversity.
6) Despite the years of notice, we failed to get out in front of this story by months. We knew it was coming and waited to discuss it until way, way too late--damage control now--and horrible damage control at that.
But the worst thing of all??? We say we are sticking to our guns. We are sticking with small classes taught by our main tenured Doctorate Professors. Our press release doubles down and rather than try and reduce the damage the next few years -- we are perfectly fine just dismissing the rankings and spending decades continuing to drop. By not announcing NOW we are making massive adjustments, the cycle of our student body's credentials will deteriorate--and quickly. We are just not an appetizing choice for those folks who just miss out on the Ivies anymore. Those students shot us up the rankings the last few decades. Now we are saying "only apply here if you share our small class and doctorate professor" mentality. I don't know who is in the pool of wanted to pay 300K to go to Wake Forest to be a teacher or a preacher or a government worker--but I can assure you that pool is not the one who got wait listed at Harvard or Duke.