Studies are showing that hundreds of thousands have left the college experience due to pandemic turmoil and the lure of jobs. Colleges across the U.S. are facing major challenges. Student enrollment has decreased more than 5 percent since 2019. The raw numbers on that is a loss of nearly 1 million students.
The pandemic created some major changes for the population. Some people drifted out of college. On the other end, some never started college. This has placed colleges on go mode. Many are focused on current students while seeking to recover their losses with freshmen. Federal data show that a little more than 3 percent of the 16.5 million undergraduates in fall 2019 were international students.
College education is a passport to many opportunities and advantages. Careers and self esteem are important results of having a formal education. But, at stake are not only the education and career prospects, but also the financial health of regional colleges and universities. Local colleges help the local community in too many ways to count.
Student shortages at colleges and universities have been a reality for several years because of demographic factors such as stagnant population growth. But, non is given credit to these issues more than the pandemic. The economy is also a culprit. Rising wages in the economic recovery have accelerated the trend. People making good money often decide to delay college or not go at all.
The study was done by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. It produced the national estimate of enrollment study. It found the decline and issues in several states since fall. In Pennsylvania, public university enrollment fell 12 percent, and community college enrollment plunged 23 percent. In 24 states, the number of public university students declined at least 4 percent from fall 2019 to fall 2021.
So, colleges are scrambling to recruit students nationwide. Around the country, regional public universities are facing many enrollment difficulties in recent years. Students are looking even more for affordable prices in an effort to use a college education for moving up in life. They see the bachelor’s degree as a ticket to a better life. The degrees are neither a prerequisite for, nor a guarantee of, career success. But research shows they are powerfully correlated with good jobs.
The big enrollment decrease is not the absolute rule. At public Indiana University, international applications for freshman admission were up 11 percent over two years. At the public University of California system, they were up 17 percent.
Some big-name private schools revealed huge increases too. For instance, Dartmouth College is up 71 percent. And take a look at Yale University. It’s enrollment is up 99 percent.
Washington state was a head of the game. It created one of the most generous college financial aid programs in the country. However, enrollment still plummeted at Washington’s colleges, especially among men. Community and technical colleges experienced a combined 24% drop.
