IHE article: College Enrollment Declines Continue

[polly_mer]

"States with the largest decrease in student enrollment numbers were Florida, California, Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania, according to the center, in that order. Alaska, Florida, Illinois, North Dakota, Hawaii and Kansas had the largest percentage declines."

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/05/30/college-enrollment-declines-continue

Thoughts?

[apl68]

Wonder why community colleges posted the largest drop?  All the talk of students starting out in community college and then transitioning to four-year institutions gave me the impression that if anything they might be picking up students.

[Hibush]

Wonder why community colleges posted the largest drop?  All the talk of students starting out in community college and then transitioning to four-year institutions gave me the impression that if anything they might be picking up students.

Unemployment is low, so a lot of would-be college students are working instead. It is a pretty consistent pattern with the economic cycle.  The recession send enrollment way up in low-cost colleges.

[polly_mer]

Wonder why community colleges posted the largest drop?  All the talk of students starting out in community college and then transitioning to four-year institutions gave me the impression that if anything they might be picking up students.

Unemployment is low, so a lot of would-be college students are working instead. It is a pretty consistent pattern with the economic cycle.  The recession send enrollment way up in low-cost colleges.

To expand on Hibush's post, community colleges serve a variety of constituents.  Yes, many recent HS graduates start at CCs with the plans to transfer.  This is particularly true for students in low SES communities.  Where I live has been successful in getting more people into local CCs and it's the relatively expensive state flagship that is worried about how the significant enrollment decline is affecting the annual budget.

However, the middle-aged adults aren't returning to college to finish a degree (a bigger source of students for the state flagship than was originally thought) or get new job skills because of the strong economy.  In addition, many of the recent HS graduates in the urban area where the state flagship resides are taking good enough paying jobs right out of HS that skipping or delaying college is reasonable.  The CC in that city is going well because the CC worked with the high schools to have dual enrollment associate degrees and certificates so students can go right into jobs requiring some additional education.

[ciao_yall]

Wonder why community colleges posted the largest drop?  All the talk of students starting out in community college and then transitioning to four-year institutions gave me the impression that if anything they might be picking up students.

Unemployment is low, so a lot of would-be college students are working instead. It is a pretty consistent pattern with the economic cycle.  The recession send enrollment way up in low-cost colleges.

To expand on Hibush's post, community colleges serve a variety of constituents.  Yes, many recent HS graduates start at CCs with the plans to transfer.  This is particularly true for students in low SES communities.  Where I live has been successful in getting more people into local CCs and it's the relatively expensive state flagship that is worried about how the significant enrollment decline is affecting the annual budget.

However, the middle-aged adults aren't returning to college to finish a degree (a bigger source of students for the state flagship than was originally thought) or get new job skills because of the strong economy.  In addition, many of the recent HS graduates in the urban area where the state flagship resides are taking good enough paying jobs right out of HS that skipping or delaying college is reasonable.  The CC in that city is going well because the CC worked with the high schools to have dual enrollment associate degrees and certificates so students can go right into jobs requiring some additional education.

Or their parents are doing well enough that they can send their student straight to the 4-year instead of trying to save money at CC.

Students (as well as their parents) want to move out of the house and experience dorm life. And there is a loss of units and time going to a CC when not everything neatly articulates.

As it turns out, the students who are savvy enough to manage the CC experience effectively tend to come from the types of backgrounds for whom affordability is not a primary concern.