Key Takeaways

• Initial estimates reported by the NSCRC in the fall report indicated that enrollment of college freshmen had declined by 5% last year, with especially concerning drops at four-year colleges that serve low-income students. The report projected the largest drop in freshman enrollment since 2020. 
• The NSCRC to that report earlier this month, stating that it had been based on a “methodological error” that “caused the mislabeling of certain students as dual enrolled rather than as freshmen,” which skewed the research group’s preliminary enrollment figures.
• The NSCRC’s subsequent research, reported in its recently released , found that freshman enrollment grew by 5.5% in fall 2024 compared to 2023, representing an increase of about 130,000 freshmen. The growth is driven by older first-year students; enrollment of 18-year-old freshmen is still below  pre-pandemic 2019 levels, the NSCRC said.
• Overall college enrollment grew 4.5% in fall 2024 compared to the previous year, a gain of about 817,000 post-secondary students. Total college enrollment is now about 0.4% above 2019’s pre-pandemic levels, with undergraduate enrollment at nearly 16 million students and graduate enrollment at 3.2 million students, the report found.

In his statement about the error, NSCRC Executive Director Doug Shapiro said the Current Term Enrollment Estimates report published in January provides a more comprehensive view of enrollment trends based on data from nearly all higher education institutions and uses different methodologies to determine freshman enrollees. The “Stay Informed” preliminary enrollment report published in October 2024 was based on data from half of the colleges and universities that submit data to the organization. 

“The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center acknowledges the importance and significance of its role in providing accurate and reliable research to the higher education community,” Shapiro said in a statement. He added that the center deeply regrets the error and is conducting a thorough review to discover its source. 

Inside Higher Ed that the error came to light as researchers were preparing the center’s January report and noted the sharp contrast between preliminary estimates and the final numbers, prompting a retroactive review of the October report and the center’s November . 

The research center created the Stay Informed report in the summer of 2020 to provide “early and real-time enrollment information” to meet the needs of the higher education community at the height of the COVID pandemic. It has continued to produce these preliminary reports each fall, followed by final and complete reporting on enrollment each winter in its January reports. 

Because the NSCRC has been the go-to source for statistical data on higher education, shook researchers and higher education leaders and the media outlets that covered the report. The past year has been a challenging one for the higher education sector. Jeremy Cohen, an NSCRC research associate and one of the report’s authors, said that there are a number of forces affecting freshman enrollment, including demographic shifts, the and the of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The U.S. Department of Education with the preliminary results as early as October when its financial data showed a 3% increase in students receiving federal aid for 2024-25, with 10% more students on track to receive Pell Grants — figures that didn’t match the enrollment declines NSCRC had reported.

In a statement last week, the Education Department’s former undersecretary James Kvaal said he was “encouraged and relieved” by the revised assessment, which he said was consistent with what officials were seeing on the financial side. 

Though the enrollment figures for fall 2024 now tell a different story, suggesting at least a moderate post-pandemic recovery, the revised figures don’t change the fact that some steep declines still loom for higher education. According to a recent from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, the number of 18-year-old high school graduates will peak in 2025 at around 3.9 million and are expected to be followed by a 15-year decline, bringing the projected demographic cliff to reality.

Key takeaways from a underscore challenges facing the higher education sector including the economic concerns, practical realities and demographic shifts that have seen a notable decline in the number of freshmen enrolling in undergraduate programs. 

Preliminary undergraduate enrollment figures for fall 2024 show enrollment increases for traditional-aged undergraduate students from all income levels, with gains of 3% over 2023 and growth in all sectors. Both undergraduate and graduate enrollments are increasing across all credential types, with bachelor’s and associate degree enrollment increasing 1.9% and 4.3% respectively, building on gains from fall 2023. The number of students pursuing undergraduate certificate programs has also increased, continuing to build upon these programs’ multiyear advances.

Freshman enrollment is a different story.  

According to the report, which was released in October by the (NSCRC), total freshman enrollment was down 5% last year, reversing the 3.7% gain reported in fall 2023. Public and private nonprofit four-year institutions are seeing the largest decreases, down 8.5% and 6.5% respectively. Freshman enrollment is declining across all neighborhood income levels, with those from middle income neighborhoods seeing the biggest drop — a roughly 5% decline — at public and private four-year institutions. 

The NSCRC began publishing higher education enrollment updates in the summer of 2020 to help policymakers and education leaders understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on postsecondary enrollments. The report is updated within the first two months of each fall term to provide timely enrollment statistics, with a report published every January providing final fall term enrollment estimates.

The fall 2024 report was the first to break out data for colleges that serve low-income students, as indicated by the percentage of undergraduate students awarded Pell Grants at the institution. The new measure shows a significant decline in freshman enrollment at four-year colleges that serve lower income students, where these numbers have dropped by more than 10%, while enrollment in community colleges serving these students saw an increase of 1.2%.  

The fall report was also the first to highlight 18-year-old freshmen — the students most likely to have enrolled immediately after high school graduation — as a distinct subgroup. The report revealed that this population’s enrollment is declining across the board.

Freshman Enrollment Headwinds

Jeremy Cohen, an NSCRC research associate and one of the report’s authors, said a number of factors are affecting freshman enrollment numbers. 

“We can’t tell you how much of each headwind is the driving force behind each trend, but we can point to some factors that may be influencing some of the declines,” Cohen said in an interview. “One of the longer-term headwinds has to do with the demographic shifts in the country. We’re not quite to the point where the size of the high school graduating class is declining, but that’s expected to hit after 2025. There are also changes in the race and ethnicity composition of college-going students.” 

According to a published by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 2025 will be the year when the metaphorical “demographic cliff” that has been the source of much higher ed consternation becomes a reality. The number of 18-year-old high school graduates will peak in 2025 at around 3.9 million and will be followed by a 15-year decline, according to the report. 

“The other long-term factor affecting freshman enrollments is a cultural questioning about the value of a traditional four-year college degree,” Cohen said. “In this report, we’ve seen that enrollment in bachelor’s degrees for all undergraduates is growing the slowest, followed by associate degree programs, and the largest growth is in undergraduate certificate programs, which tend to be shorter-term, more trade- and vocational-oriented and are perceived to have closer connections to the job market.” 

Enrollment in undergraduate certificate and graduate certificate programs have grown 19.1% and 13% respectively since 2022, compared with 2.9% for bachelor’s programs and 2.7% for master’s programs over that period. 

Preliminary data in the Fall 2024 NSCRC report shows strong growth in mechanic and repair technologies/technician programs at both the undergraduate certificate and associate degree levels. Undergraduate certificate programs in construction trades and engineering technologies are similarly robust. Enrollment in programs focused on health professions and related clinical sciences programs is growing at both the associate and bachelor’s levels, while multi/interdisciplinary studies, engineering and social sciences are seeing gains at the associate degree level.

Another headwind that may have slowed fall 2024 enrollment figures is the rocky rollout of the “simplified” (FAFSA) that prospective students fill out to determine their eligibility for financial aid. 

For the 2024-25 award year the U.S. Department of Education made substantial changes to the form’s need analysis formulas and calculation of Federal Pell Grant awards. Though the aim was for the new FAFSA to be simplified and faster, the rollout was plagued by issues including a delayed release, a math glitch that failed to adjust families’ incomes for inflation, and technical issues with the form itself. Higher education experts, lawmakers and advocates worried might lead to a precipitous drop in enrollments for the 2024-25 school year. 

Cohen said questions remain about what effect the delays and uncertainties about 2024’s FAFSA applications may have had. 

“We can’t tell for certain that this added to the decline in freshmen because there are all these other things going on. But it is a factor on the table,” he said. 

The Demographic Conundrum 

At highly selective institutions, enrollments for 18-year-old freshmen who identify as Black, multiracial and Asian declined by much larger margins than white and Hispanic students in the fall of 2024.

Cohen said the decrease in enrollments among the most selective institutions may be related to the striking down affirmative action programs in college admissions. But that isn’t the entire story, he added. 

The 2024 report saw a continuation of the trend of students declining to report their gender, race or ethnicity, which skews researchers’ ability to pinpoint all the factors at play. Nevertheless, Cohen said that the available data on 18-year-old freshmen at all institutions indicates significant declines in white students’ enrollment compared with that of other races or ethnicities.  

Combining all undergraduate and graduate enrollments, Hispanic, Black, Asian and multiracial students saw strong growth, but enrollment of white students continued to decline. 

“White students are a demographic group that is already declining in the high school population,” he said. “But these declines are certainly at a steeper level than those of the overall population.” Some of the decline in white freshman enrollments could be explained by the increase in students declining to report their race, but that can’t account for all of the decline. 

“Any way you cut it, there’s a large decline in white freshmen that appears to be larger than their decline in the high school graduate population.”

Cohen stresses that the Fall 2024 NSCRC report and the special report on 18-year-old freshmen are preliminary analyses, with updates to be released later this month.

COLUMBIA — Fewer high schoolers enrolled in or applied for college this fall, even though the graduation rate for the Class of 2024 was slightly better than last year, according to data released Tuesday.

Overall, that grade public schools contained few surprises, teachers’ advocates said.

That’s not good news, as schools’ ratings still reflect low test scores and high absence rates statewide.

“There’s very little movement at all,” said Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association. “I’m not seeing much ‘Oh, wow,’ or ‘Oh, yikes,’ either.”

The number of schools at the highest and lowest ends of the spectrum decreased.

This year, 230 schools — 18% — were considered excellent, down from 278, or 22.5%, last year.

At the same time, 47 schools — just 4% — were rated unsatisfactory, the lowest of five rankings. That’s down from 60 last year, according to the data jointly released by the state Department of Education and the independent Education Oversight Committee.

It is good news that fewer schools fell in the bottom tier, said Patrick Kelly with the Palmetto State Teachers Association.

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“I tend to look more toward underachieving schools,” Kelly said. “I don’t want any student in South Carolina to attend a school that’s underachieving.”

Education officials pointed to Pinecrest Elementary School in Greenwood, where they held a news conference releasing the report cards, as an example of a school doing well despite difficult circumstances.

Pinecrest Elementary, where 87% of students live in poverty, scored an “excellent” rating overall, along with top scores in academic performance and student progress.

“While the road ahead is challenging, we remain optimistic as the performance of schools like Pinecrest Elementary demonstrate that academic improvement is achievable,” April Allen, chair of the Education Oversight Committee, said at the school.

College and career readiness

The percentage of students who graduated on time (four years after entering ninth grade) improved slightly to 85% — 1.6 percentage points better than last year. Still, less than a third of all high school seniors were considered ready for both the workforce and college, according to the data.

“We want to ensure that our students are adequately prepared for life after graduation,” Allen said.

In South Carolina, all 11th graders take a career-readiness assessment of skills commonly needed for jobs. It tests four areas: Math, reading, understanding data (such as correctly interpreting graphics), and so-called “soft skills,” which is basically knowing how to act professionally, be dependable and work well with others.

Students receive scores of 1 to 5. The higher the score, the more jobs and career fields they’re ready to pursue.

But that score alone may not mean much, Kelly said, since “some students go through the motions” when it comes to that test.

Nearly 70% of students in the Class of 2024 were considered ready for a career.

That means they received at least a 3 on the career-readiness assessment, earned a technical education certificate, completed a , or scored well enough on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (commonly known as the ASVAB) to qualify to enlist in the military.

That was up from 61% last year.

At the same time, the percentage of students enrolling in and applying for college decreased from last year. Nearly 55% of students who graduated in the spring started this semester in a two- or four-year college, compared with 63% of last year’s graduates attending college in fall 2023.

And 61% applied for college, compared to 64% of the Class of 2023. About 4,530 fewer students completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which determines how much state and federal aid a student’s eligible to receive.

Statewide, the percentage of graduates considered ready for college was 32.5%, essentially unchanged from last year. That reflects students’ scores on the ACT or SAT college entrance exam, whether they earned college credit through a dual-enrollment course, or scored high enough on end-of-course Advanced Placement tests to earn college credit.

The numbers suggest students can graduate high school without actually being prepared for the workforce or college, East said.

“We made sure our graduation rates are where they need to be, even if we’re just passing (students) along,” she said.

Students who fail tests or entire classes are more often offered alternatives, which are sometimes easier than the original class. That enables them to graduate, boosting schools’ graduation rates, without preparing students for any sort of career, East and Kelly said.

Offering second chances for struggling students “is not a bad thing,” Kelly said.

“But there are too many instances where the second chance is not as aligned with the rigor or expectations of the first chance,” he said.

Chronic absences

The rate of students who miss 10% of the school year — 18 days or more, when considering the state’s required 180 days of instruction — remains a concern for education leaders, Allen said.

Nearly 23% of students were considered chronically absent last school year, according to the data.

The more often students miss class, the less likely they are to earn scores on end-of-year standardized tests showing they’re reading for the next grade, the oversight committee heard Monday.

“It makes sense: If students aren’t in school, it is unlikely that they are going to stay on track for success,” Allen said.

Test scores

Report cards for elementary and middle schools are based on performance on end-of-year standardized tests. About 54% of third- through eighth-grade students statewide showed they could read on grade level, while 43% could meet math expectations for their grade.

High school report cards factored in students’ end-of-course tests in English 2 (usually taken by sophomores) and Algebra I (often taken by freshman). Two-thirds of students passed the English test, while less than half of algebra students scored at least a 70 (a C).

“Students are struggling in math, and as a state, we want to provide schools, teachers and students the tools and resources they need to improve,” Allen said in a statement.

State Superintendent Ellen Weaver credited the Palmetto Literacy Project with improving reading scores. Since 2019, the state budget has provided the agency up to $14 million annually to hire reading specialists, train teachers and provide more resources to schools with particularly low scores.

Officials are hoping for a similar outcome from the new Palmetto Math Project, which was funded with $10 million in this year’s state budget to hire math tutors, buy textbooks, and improve training for teachers at the lowest-scoring schools.

“Improving math proficiency must also be an urgent, parallel priority to ensure that all students are fully prepared for future success,” Weaver said in a news release. “The department’s newly launched Palmetto Math Project is positioned to do just that.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. SC Daily Gazette maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seanna Adcox for questions: info@scdailygazette.com. Follow SC Daily Gazette on and .

Even after the exams and papers are done, students at New Hampshire’s community colleges have sometimes faced another headache: credit transfers.

Across the state’s public higher education systems, not all completed courses at a community college are helpful for a given degree at a public four-year college or university. A student pursuing an engineering degree, for instance, might learn too late that the algebra-based physics course they took in community college is less useful toward their four-year degree than a calculus-based course.

It can be a vexing problem, requiring a student to pay for credits they didn’t think they needed.

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“The large private online college in Manchester will take everything,” said Stephen Appleby, director of educator support and higher education at the New Hampshire Department of Education, referring to Southern New Hampshire University. “So how do our public colleges compete when they’re turning away credits and one of their competitors is accepting every credit?”

College administrators have been working in recent years to strengthen those course pathways and eliminate confusion. But it’s one of several processes state officials say need to be improved to take on a growing problem for state-run colleges: Costs are too high and not enough students are attending.

New Hampshire colleges continue to face . High school graduating classes continue to shrink on average. And annual enrollment across New Hampshire state-run colleges and universities has fallen from 31,307 students in 2019 to 27,056 in 2023.

This year, public colleges and universities are being pressed into action. Gov. Chris Sununu signed a law July 12, , requiring the University System of New Hampshire and the Community College System of New Hampshire to follow from a task force convened by the governor last year.

The main objective: increasing consolidation.

The task force had 90 days to try to increase enrollment and decrease costs, and it came away with a clear conclusion. New Hampshire’s public colleges and universities and its community colleges will need to combine resources and scale back in the coming years.

The school systems are not merging – lawmakers , proposed by Sununu in 2021, after pushback from faculty of the community college system who feared layoffs. But they are coordinating, officials say.

A push toward alignment

Enrollment challenges are not unique to the Granite State. Nationwide, colleges are closing at a rate of one per week, according to Appleby. “We think that’s going to continue to accelerate the next few years,” he said.

But while areas of the country such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona are growing, enrollment problems are particularly acute in the Northeast and Midwest. “We’re not high-growth areas of the country, and our populations are aging,” Appleby said.

Some states are already choosing to consolidate. Alaska, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Vermont are among the states that have tried a similar approach with their state-run community colleges and higher education institutions.

Those states “have gone down this road of saying, ‘Okay, we can’t sustain cost and enrollments,’” Appleby said.

Now it’s New Hampshire’s turn, Appleby and others say. Working with a Boulder, Colorado-based organization known as the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, the New Hampshire task force came up with a number of recommendations to carry out the idea – some that would require funding and legislative approval and others that could be done more quickly.

In the short-term category, the committee recommended that the two systems align their credits so community college students can transfer more of their coursework into the four-year colleges and universities. They suggested a fast-tracked admissions process where community college students with a certain GPA could automatically enroll in a USNH college. They also proposed a similar process where a high school student with a certain GPA could easily enter a community college.

Other ideas included recruiting employers who agree to help graduates with loan repayments if they are hired, and consolidating the entire community college system into one entity with one accreditation.

Among the longer-term ideas: further merging the community college and public higher education system under one chancellor and one governing board; eliminating duplicate courses between the two systems to reduce competition; and expanding online instruction.

Different challenges, advantages

Though aligned on the goal of boosting enrollment, the problems for the university system and community college system are different.

For the University System of New Hampshire, whose colleges include the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, and Keene State College, the problem is existential: Fewer students are going to high school in New Hampshire, and fewer high school graduates are going into college.

Beyond the basic demographic challenges accompanying more than 20 years of dropping K-12 enrollment, young adults are concerned about cost and debt, and are gravitating toward online options or alternative career paths, noted Catherine Provencher, chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire, in an interview.

The result is that colleges – both public and private – are not only competing against each other for students but also attempting to sell students on the concept of college itself. Provencher said USNH is largely working to stabilize its student population now, about 50 percent of whom are from out of state.

“Increasing enrollment in this environment? That might not be realistic,” she said.

In contrast, the community college system may be better poised to adapt to toughening economic conditions, noted Mark Rubinstein, the chancellor of the CCSNH and a member of the task force, in an interview.

Community colleges are less dependent on high school graduates and cater more to working adults, who may be more likely to seek higher education training during downturns. And community colleges, which are less residential-based, can meet students’ needs geographically, allowing them to maintain families and jobs outside of classes.

“Part of the way that we’re envisioning the future is that with technology changing, with industries changing, with the circumstances in individual people’s lives causing them to want to alter directions, we anticipate that although the number of 18-year-olds can only grow as fast as as the number of newborns arise, that the number of adults who will need education and will want to pursue new pathways is likely to grow significantly,” Rubinstein said.

Many of the consolidation moves are centered around defensive actions to stop state-run colleges and universities from losing more money, Appleby says. While the University System of New Hampshire has for in-state students for the past six years, administrative costs have continued to climb. Finding savings will allow USNH to hold off on future tuition hikes and maintain financial aid options even as expenses grow.

‘Clear pathways’

Administrators aren’t just trying to stanch the financial bleeding. They’re also trying to build enthusiasm.

One approach is by increasing industry involvement with the colleges. “If I’m a high schooler, a young adult, and I know that if I go through this program at Manchester Community College or at Keene State (College) and then on the other end is a job waiting for me it makes it a lot more likely I’m going to go through the program,” said Appleby.

Clear roadmaps for community college students thinking about four-year college could help too, officials say. Following a law passed in 2022, USNH and CCSNH have coordinated to develop 50 different ”transfer pathways” for community college students, according to a report to lawmakers this month.

Those pathways delineate exactly which community college courses they should sign up for in order to have the smoothest transition to their intended bachelor’s degree if they choose to transfer to a four-year college. A student interested in working in the biotechnology industry, for instance, could follow one of the pathways to enroll in the exact community college chemistry, microbiology, and physics courses they need to finish the degree seamlessly at the University of New Hampshire.

Another tactic is to streamline the college-going experience for students – even before they reach adulthood. That’s where the “Early College At Your High School” program comes in. Previously known as “Running Start,” the program allows high school students to take college courses in high school, allowing them to obtain credits and cut down on costs later on. For students, two courses are free; subsequent courses are $150 each.

“There may be a whole cohort of students in high school right now that haven’t thought about going to college,” said Provencher. “But if we can have clear pathways for students and joint communication … there are opportunities for those students to get some credits in high school, maybe get a lot of credits in high school, go on to the community college system, and then go on to the university system.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Hampshire Bulletin maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Dana Wormald for questions: info@newhampshirebulletin.com. Follow New Hampshire Bulletin on and .

How did the pandemic change community colleges and technical colleges?

The rate of Indiana high school seniors who go directly on to college remains stagnant, according to the latest data released by state officials.

New numbers for the Class of 2022 announced Thursday by the Indiana Commission of Higher Education (CHE) indicated — for the — that just 53% of Hoosier graduates furthered their education with certificate training, a two-year program or enrollment at a four-year college.

It’s a 6% drop from the class of 2019, and 12% lower than in 2015.

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Still, because the data further shows that the total number of 2022 high school graduates increased by 3%, that translates to fewer students enrolled in postsecondary education directly after high school.

“Even though the college-going rate held steady at 53%, we actually lost a number of first-time students enrolling from our headcount perspective,” said Brooke Kile, associate commissioner for business intelligence.

CHE staff presented preliminary data during the commission’s bi-monthly meeting on Thursday. Official numbers for 2022 are expected to be released next week.

The rate — called “dismal” by numerous state lawmakers and education officials — continues the . The decline began several years prior, however.

More students going out of state

CHE defines the college-going rate as the percentage of students who enroll in a postsecondary institution within the year following high school graduation.

Per the 2022 data, 47% of students who completed Career and Technical Education (CTE) training while in high school went on to pursue additional postsecondary coursework.

But among those CTE students, Kile noted that Indiana continues to have access gaps among different demographic groups.

About 70% of Asian students and 48% of White students who took CTE classes went on to college, according to the commission’s numbers. Forty-four percent of Black students and 41% of Hispanic and Latino students continued education after graduation.

Kile said, too, that male students are “increasingly choosing” not to participate in postsecondary education.

Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars students are making the jump, though, and have “a very strong college-going rate,” Kile continued. The covers full tuition and fees at Indiana colleges and universities for low-income students, who enroll in the 8th grade.

Eighty-one percent of scholars in the 2022 cohort advanced to postsecondary education, according the the new data. That’s compared to 59% of non-scholar students who continued their studies.

CHE officials also identified a new trend with the Class of 2022 — of the students who are going to college, more are enrolling in out-of-state schools.

Around 27% of graduating seniors enrolled in one of Indiana’s public four-year institutions, followed by 10% who attend a public two-year school and 8% who enrolled at a private college or university.

Another 8% went to a school outside of Indiana, according to the data.

“This is the highest out-of-state percentage that we’ve seen in the last several years,” Kile explained. She said Indiana’s college-going rates only held steady the out-of-state enrollment went up.

“One year is not a trend, so we are not necessarily sounding the alarm,” she continued. “But we are definitely looking at what sort of early indicator data we can get from the 2023 and 2024 cohorts, looking at attendance patterns, to see if we need to do any sort of special initiatives to encourage students to stay in Indiana.”

CHE initiatives continue

Also previewed Thursday was a data update on the Class of 2021.

CHE officials said 51% of the 2021 cohort that enrolled in a postsecondary program within a year after high school graduation met all three early college success benchmarks: ​​they did not need remediation, they completed all courses they attempted during their first year of enrollment, and they persisted to their second year of schooling.

According to the latest numbers, 77% of the 2021 cohort that enrolled in a postsecondary program persisted to the second year, which Kile said is the highest persistence rate in more than a decade.

Still, Kile and other commission officials emphasized ongoing efforts to boost postsecondary enrollment.

Current initiatives include:

Additional support from the Frank O’Bannon grant — a 35% increase to awards took effect beginning with the 2023 cohort.“Pre-admissions letters,” , which indicated to Hoosier students at least three Indiana colleges and universities to which they qualified to attend.Automatic enrollment for eligible 21st Century Scholars — which in the 2027 graduating class from 20,000 to over 40,000.Adding incentives for Indiana campuses to prioritize low-income youth and adult enrollment.

Kile also noted CHE’s continued expansion of the Indiana College Core offerings, given that College Core completion “is the best indicator for college going.”

The curriculum consists of a 30-credit-hour block of general education courses that transfer between all of Indiana’s public institutions and some private colleges.

Adding to the effort, in March will require to be more accessible to high schoolers across the state, and compels Hoosier colleges and universities — minus Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University — to offer three-year degree programs by July 2025.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on and .

The study followed 23,000 students starting with their freshman year of high school in 2009. Though 74% enrolled in college after graduating, almost half didn’t receive any postsecondary credential by June 2021. They are the fifth group the NCES has tracked for postsecondary outcomes, but the first cohort it began tracking in ninth grade. The studies allow researchers and policymakers to have a better understanding of students’ educational experiences beyond high school.

The previous group of 2002 graduates had a higher college enrollment rate, at 84%, and a completion rate of 52%. Though the study doesn’t include direct insight from students about why they may not have finished their education, it does give a snapshot of graduating seniors during that time. The 2013 cohort’s diverse set of characteristics such as their gender, race and income, paired with the economy, likely played a role. Additionally, students who were still in school at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 likely had their learning disrupted.

Elise Christopher, director of the NCES longitudinal studies, says the 2008 Great Recession could have influenced how this cohort thought about life after graduation and entering the workforce. She also points out that the No Child Left Behind Act could have had an effect.

When the study was being designed in the early 2000s, there was a lot of policy focused on degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering and math. But, Christopher says, No Child Left Behind strongly emphasized math and reading, which put it at odds with the STEM pipeline push. The new study found that students who attended postsecondary education in the 2013 cohort mostly pursued degrees in non-STEM fields. Over 80% of students who earned a degree were in an unrelated field. Of the males who completed their higher education, nearly 30% were in STEM fields, as were nearly 14% of females. By race, Asian students had the highest percentage of STEM degrees and certificates, at nearly 34%.

Among the students who enrolled in postsecondary education, more than half were female. Thirty-nine percent of them earned a bachelor’s degree and 32% attained no credential. Though male students had a lower enrollment rate, at 44%, 38% similarly earned bachelor’s degrees.

The study also examined students by race. Although white students had the highest enrollment rate (53%), Asian students were the top earners of bachelor’s degrees, at 56%. Hispanic and Black students had the second-and third-highest enrollment rates, though far behind white students, at 20% and 12%, respectively. Despite pursuing higher education, 46% of Hispanic students and 56% of Black students earned no postsecondary credential.

The NCES also looked at the income and education levels of the students’ parents. About 80% of those whose families earned more than $115,000 completed their degree or credential, in comparison to 49% of students whose families earned under $35,000. Of students whose parents had a high school education or lower, nearly 40% didn’t pursue higher learning after graduation.

“It’s very important to understand what’s happening in ninth grade,” Christopher said. “But we really don’t know the full measure of those impacts of those educational experiences until we get these long-term outcome data.”

Iowa’s community colleges are seeing returns on recruiting efforts and partnerships with schools and businesses in the form of rising enrollment in 2023.

Enrollment in community colleges grew by 3.8% from last year, according to the Iowa Department of Education , with a total of 85,362 students spread across the state. Part-time student numbers reached an all-time high, making up two-thirds of total enrollment.

While enrollment isn’t back to where it was before the COVID-19 pandemic began, with more than 88,000 students attending community colleges in 2019, the report stated this is the second year of increased enrollment in the state.

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“I think that despite challenges facing higher (education) nationally, we’re faring well,” Community Colleges for Iowa Executive Director Emily Shields said.

Out of the state’s 15 community colleges, nine saw increased enrollment. Des Moines Area Community College saw the highest number of enrolled students at 24,418 and the largest over-year increase of almost 13%. Indian Hills Community College saw the largest decrease in enrollment, dropping by 3.7% to 3,236 students.

Iowa falls behind the national average with its enrollment trends, according to the report. National enrollment in two-year institutions increased by 4.4%, helped by a 9% increase in part-time students. In Iowa, part-time student enrollment increased by 0.8%.

Full-time enrollment also dropped in both Iowa and across the country, with the state reporting a 0.8% decrease and the U.S. seeing a 0.2% drop.

Joint enrollment, in which students are simultaneously taking high school and college credit classes, increased in Iowa by 7.9%, while the national average increased by 8.8%. Shields said she doesn’t like to compare the state and national numbers with joint enrollment, as she believes Iowa has been ahead of other states with tapping that market and has already seen major growth.

The biggest issue four-year universities and community colleges alike are up against is predicted drops in enrollment, Shields said, and it is a two-pronged problem. The first factor is that there will be fewer students graduating high school in the coming years, making the pool of applicants to colleges smaller. The other challenge is that fewer high school graduates are choosing to seek any post-secondary education, despite the majority of careers requiring a certification or degree of some kind.

“We’re facing a lot of pressures that are kind of driving down enrollment nationally, that we’re trying to address locally in different ways, but they are making it more challenging to kind of keep enrollment where it needs to be and keep college affordable and continue to attract students,” Shields said.

Efforts on the national level to expand financial aid for certain programs could help bolster enrollment in certification and other non-degree training programs, Shields said. The , which has passed out of the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee, would extend Pell Grant eligibility to some short-term workforce programs like those implemented by Iowa’s community colleges.

With the looming enrollment cliff and fewer students interested in pursuing an education after high school, Community Colleges for Iowa and the institutions it works with are trying to spread recruitment programs to a variety of areas.

Shields said community colleges don’t have the luxury of trying to target specific types of students, whether they be just out of high school or working adults, and thus are using career and college transition counselors embedded in high schools and partnerships with businesses to try and reach traditional and nontraditional students.

Judging by the 7.9% increase in joint enrollment and 3.1% jump in Iowa Career and Technical Education enrollment, Shields said these strides seem to be paying off.

“I think that really reflects where we’ve made a lot of efforts to align with the state’s workforce to partner even more with high schools and just to offer lots of different options for Iowans to start and continue their education,” Shields said.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on and .

Outcomes are starkly different for those who have that opportunity. High-achieving Black, Latino and lower-income students who do gain access to advanced math classes in high school have better academic outcomes across multiple measures: stronger high school graduation rates, higher GPAs and greater college admission and persistence rates. They were also more likely to attend a highly selective college and earn more STEM credits there, a pathway to landing lucrative jobs in those fields.

Just Equations and The Education Trust released their report Thursday. Together, they analyzed eight years of data following 23,000 ninth graders from 900 private and public schools throughout the country, information collected by the National Center for Education Statistics. The study group was tracked through high school and college starting in 2009. 

Both Ed Trust and Just Equations advocate for educational equality with a focus on children who have been traditionally underserved. Earlier research cited in the report shows Black, Latino and impoverished students, regardless of their capabilities, are less likely to be assigned AP math courses, enroll in STEM majors or attend top-tier colleges than their wealthier, white or Asian peers.

“This study challenges the notion that access to advanced math courses is purely the byproduct of talent and academic achievement,” said Melodie Baker, national policy director at Just Equations. “Our analysis confirmed that all too often, factors such as race, wealth and privilege — rather than students’ aptitude and proficiency — can be hidden prerequisites for access to courses that lead to STEM and college opportunity.”

While 46% of high-achieving Asian students, 19% of white students, and 29% of students from high socio-economic backgrounds took college-level AP/International Baccalaureate calculus by the end of high school, just 10% of Black, 15% of Latino and 11% of lower-income high-achievers did the same. 

Race and income disparities in high school graduation rates appear to level off for this high-achieving, underrepresented group when they take advanced math courses: 99% of Asian and white students, 98% of Black students, and 96% of Latino and lower-income students graduated in four years. Four-year high school graduation rates declined among all high-achievers who did not take advanced math classes and gaps opened up along racial and socioeconomic lines, although the drop in graduation rates was starkest for Asian students and least-felt by affluent students.

“We know that it is so important for students to feel engaged and that their learning experiences are relevant,” said Ivy Smith Morgan, EdTrust’s director for P12 research and data analytics. “What this conjures for me is the anecdotes about students who are so smart but stop paying attention in class because they are not challenged. They are not getting the opportunities that align with their ability.”

Smith Morgan noted U.S. students’ performance in mathematics as compared to their peers internationally has been highly scrutinized for years, with last week’s release of the latest PISA scores showing unprecedented 13-point declines for American students and an average 15-point loss globally. The U.S., still reeling from COVID learning loss, along with other countries, now ranks 26th in its math scores. Smith Morgan said a failure to mine students’ talents will have dire economic implications. 

“What we are talking about is losing a future workforce with the skills, training and technical knowledge we need to fill all of the STEM jobs that will exist — not the ones we have right now, but the ones we have not even thought of yet,” she said. “We are shooting ourselves in the foot.” 

The study notes the disparity in opportunity starts well before students enter high school: Just 24% of Black students, 34% of Latino students, and 25% of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds took Algebra I or higher in eighth grade, compared with 39% of white children, 64% of their Asian peers and 57% of students from higher income backgrounds. 

“Anyone who is paying attention knows that our mathematics education systems are deeply inequitable,” said David Kung, director of strategic partnerships at The Charles A. Dana Center in Austin. “Black, brown and poor students get shafted when it comes to access, teaching and advising.”

The Dana Center, which seeks to ensure all students have access to excellent math and science education, has been working with several states across the nation as part of its to revamp mathematics curriculum, making equity and student interest a top priority.  

“This report is another reminder that whenever there are decisions to be made —  to take algebra in 8th grade, to enroll in an advanced math class, to apply to college, to choose a STEM path — equity gaps open,” Kung said. “We must reform our systems so those critical transitions are smoother, especially for students from groups we have historically under-supported.”

The new study found, too, that high-achieving underserved students who took more challenging high school mathematics coursework often had math teachers who established clear goals and school counselors who set high standards. Such positive influences may have aided in their success. 

Researchers say 74% of Black and 81% of Latino high-achieving students who were enrolled in advanced high school mathematics courses went on to follow a standard process of getting into and staying enrolled at college after high school. 

Not so for those who did not: Only 58% of Black students and 53% of Latino high-achieving students who did not take these classes had that same outcome. Results were similar for students from lower-income backgrounds: 77% of those who took advanced math courses experienced standard college enrollment and persistence versus 53% who did not take more challenging courses.  

The study showed Black and Latino high-achieving students who took advanced math courses in high school had better first-year college GPAs: roughly 0.5 points higher. Lower income students had a 0.6-point gain. 

EdTrust and Just Equations recommends Congress support and incentivize state and district leaders to greatly expand access to challenging coursework in all topics, including math. 

They said, too, that the government should increase funding for whole-child support services that would allow districts to hire an appropriate number of well-trained restorative justice coordinators, school counselors, psychologists and nurses. 

States and districts should also boost professional development efforts and coaching with the goal of reducing bias and incorporating anti-racist mindsets. 

They can also automatically enroll students in higher-level math courses, like the Dallas school system, which moved from an opt-in model to an opt-out policy in the 2019-20 school year. The followed that example: Gov. Abbott, earlier this year, signed that requires the automatic enrollment of children in advanced math based on their test scores, not on a recommendation. 

The Commit Partnership, a Dallas-based nonprofit focused on education, applauded the move. Chelsea Jeffery, its chief regional impact officer, said she looks forward to other districts doing the same, not only changing their policies but providing students with the support necessary to graduate high school ready for college and the workforce. 

“We celebrate Dallas ISD for their innovative approach to this critical subject area and to policymakers for passing legislation that will benefit our students and community,” she said. 

The study classified a student as high-achieving if they passed — with an A, B, or C — Algebra I or higher in middle school. Others who made the cut scored in the highest one-fifth on a math assessment given to students in ninth grade. 

Disclosure: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides financial support to Just Equations, The Education Trust, The Charles A. Dana Center and ����Ӱ��.

Texas community colleges saw a big post-pandemic recovery this year, preliminary fall enrollment data shows.

A total of 676,141 students were enrolled in community colleges this fall, representing a 4.25% increase in enrollment since 2021 and bringing those numbers closer to where they were before the pandemic. About in public two-year colleges in 2019.

The uptick comes after community colleges saw enrollment fall by about 80,000 students between 2019 and 2021, causing community college enrollment the state’s four-year universities for the first time since the 1990s. The drop came as a surprise to many community colleges expecting student enrollment to increase during the pandemic, as it typically does during economic recessions when students look for more affordable schooling options.

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Texas Community Colleges Association President and CEO Ray Martinez said he believes affordability is a driving factor in the recovery.

“I think a lot of students are assessing the value of having a post-secondary degree or certificate,” he said. “When they do that, they often look at what is the most affordable option, and the one that will give [them] the most return on value. That usually points toward a degree or certificate from a community college.”

After Alvin Community College saw an 11% drop in enrollment between 2020 and 2021, director of recruitment and enrollment Amanda Smithson said the college made an effort to expand its dual enrollment and certificate programs. Placing Alvin Community College academic advisers on local high school campuses made a big impact on the program’s success, she said.

Dual enrollment courses allow high school students to earn college credit at a discounted rate through community colleges. This method has bolstered community college’s enrollment in recent years.

Since 2021, the college has seen a 6.22% increase in enrollment.

Smithson said the college received several million dollars in federal funding as a result of the pandemic, allowing it to provide more grants to students in need. In addition to federal funds, the college’s ACC Foundation also helps some students cover the cost of textbooks and other expenses.

“We’ve been able to kind of put aside some emergency funds to help students who are just kind of in a bind,” she said. “If you have a flat tire, and that flat tire is the thing keeping you from coming to class, then we can try to help you with that.”

Temple Community College also saw a steady recovery in enrollment, which went up by almost 20% between 2021 and 2023. School officials said they had over 4,800 students enrolled this fall. Temple Community College Provost and Interim President Susan Guzman-Trevino said the increase was a result of the school’s focus on expanding its programs and outreach.

“With the workforce opportunities and new businesses and industries that are coming to our area, the emphasis on [career and technical education] for the school districts and for us, [and] adding new programs to the college, I think those are going to be strategies that [we] are going to ensure our enrollment continues to trend upward,” she said.

A new state funding model approved by the Texas Legislature this year could help community colleges sustain the upward trend in enrollment.

House Bill 8, which went into effect in September, now funds the state’s community colleges based on how many of their students graduate with a degree or certificate or transfer to a four-year university. The bill incentivizes community colleges to offer more robust program offerings, including certificates, degrees and industry-based credentials. HB 8 also rewards colleges when students complete short-term programs like non-credit, workforce education.

Smithson said the new funding model allows colleges to focus on student success and takes focus away from just having a student fill a seat in class.

“Now we’re able to really drill in and see how we can help that student to be successful across the whole process,” she said. “That provides us with an amazing opportunity to help this next generation of students excel here in school, and then be prepared to take on the real world outside of school.”

As Texas community colleges’ enrollment levels return to normal, Martinez said they have not forgotten about the students who dropped out of community college during the pandemic.

“A lot of marketing and outreach efforts are going on by our community colleges to make sure that those students that stopped out know that there are options to come back into post-secondary education,” he said.

This article originally appeared in at .

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Overall college enrollment surged by 2.1 percent in fall 2023 compared to last year’s decrease of 0.9 percent, according to the .

But freshmen enrollment for this fall declined by 3.6 percent, particularly among 18- to 20-year-olds in four-year institutions — reversing last year’s promising 4.6 percent increase. Instead, community colleges led enrollment gains, particularly among freshmen over 21.

The enrollment increase among all freshmen at community colleges signal students’ growing interest in programs such as healthcare and construction offering short-term commitments that lead to direct employment connections, the report found.

Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, said in a statement the freshmen decline is a “troubling sign” for four-year institutions as young students opt out.

“This disparity in age aligns with the disparity in the kind of schools and the types of programs students are now choosing,” Shapiro told ����Ӱ��.

Here are four key takeaways from the report:

1. Young students ages 18 to 20 led freshmen enrollment declines.

Freshmen enrollment, particularly in the 18 to 20 age group, declined by 5.2 percent despite last year’s 4.5 percent increase.

However, freshmen in the 21 to 24, 25 to 29 and over 30 age groups increased by 14.3 percent, 17.4 percent and 24.4 percent respectively.

The freshmen enrollment trend was not expected as more students applied to college for the 2023-24 academic year than last year, reported.

Shapiro said the age disparity stems from young students’ reluctance to choose traditional four-year institutions — opting instead for community colleges and certificate programs.

“This is something that should not be news to anyone at any four-year institution,” Shapiro said.

“If you’re less confident the job you get, even after earning a degree, is going to pay you significantly more than what you could make right now, it makes sense why young students would focus on short-term programs that have more direct connections to the workforce,” he added.

Kevin Carey, vice president of education policy for , told the strong job market has exacerbated difficulties for four-year institutions to recruit high school graduates.

“A lot of four-year institutions are competing with the job market,” Carey said. “Some of those shorter-term degrees could represent an attempt to compromise with it.”

2. Community colleges led undergraduate enrollment growth.

Undergraduate enrollment gains particularly come from community colleges — accounting for nearly 59% of overall growth.

Community college enrollment also increased by 4.4 percent compared to last year’s 0.1 percent decline.

This growth suggests community colleges are starting to recover after taking a hit during the pandemic, the report found.

Shapiro said this aligns with the age disparities seen in freshmen enrollment as older students are more likely to attend community college over four-year institutions.

“Community colleges have only now started to improve,” Shapiro said. “To me, that signals students are looking for shorter programs, shorter commitments of time and more direct employment linkages.”

Thomas Brock, director of the , told shifting attitudes toward four-year institutions have had indirect benefits for community colleges.

“Whether it’s around affordability, debt, preparing for the job market, I think perhaps in some ways the negative press has been a little more directed toward the four-year sector,” Brock said.

3. White student enrollment declined as Black, Latino and Asian students grew.

Black, Latino and Asian students lead overall undergraduate enrollment growth — increasing by 2.1 percent, 4.2 percent and 4 percent respectively.

White students declined by 0.9 percent, a continuation of last year’s 4.8 percent drop, but Shapiro said this is in part due to the ending race-conscious admissions.

“Part of the apparent decline we see in white students is because they’re not revealing their race,” Shapiro said.

He added how these demographic shifts trickle down to , with less white students graduating compared to their Black, Latino and Asian peers.

4. Male student enrollment grew at nearly twice the rate of female students.

Undergraduate male enrollment increased by 2.2 percent compared to female enrollment that increased by 1.2 percent. 

The gender disparity continues the greater impact the pandemic had on women the past two years, the report found.

Shapiro said this is in part due to job market growth in careers like construction and manufacturing that historically favor men.

“It’s a small difference, but it’s been steady,” Shapiro said.

TOPEKA — More than 50 colleges and universities in Kansas agreed to drop application fees Tuesday through Thursday for residents of the state regardless of age or income interested in seeking undergraduate degrees or certificates.

The opportunity to submit applications for free was extended by the six state universities supervised by the Kansas Board of Regents, Washburn University in Topeka, 19 community colleges, six technical colleges and 21 private independent colleges.

Jon Rolph, chairman of the Board of Regents, said the objective of the first statewide free college application period Nov. 7-9 was to temporarily discard an impediment to higher education and potentially increase the state’s rate of college attendance.

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“The Apply Free Days initiative is part of the board’s effort to remove barriers to application and entry for Kansans, making our higher education system more affordable and accessible for all,” he said. “Kansas colleges and universities offer a wide range of program options that help students meet their career goals.”

In the past decade, Kansas’ college-going rate has declined. In 2021, 59.5% of Kansas high school graduates enrolled in a college, university or certificate program. The disinterest also was revealed when less than half of the state’s high school graduates submitted college financial aid applications.

Waiver of the application fee was extended to first-time freshmen, transfer students, returning students and those seeking a second bachelor’s degree. The initiative covered general applications, certificate programs, associate degree programs and bachelor degree programs. It doesn’t include applications for graduate school programs.

The Board of Regents said Apply Free Days information could be found at . Students uncertain about what college option was best for them could use KSDegreeStats.org to explore the cost of degrees and potential earnings of graduates.

Prospective students may start and save an online application any time, but the fee would be waived only if the application was submitted during the three-day window.

However, Kansas colleges and universities have application programs available throughout the year to assist individuals enduring financial hardships. It is free to apply year round to the 19 community colleges. Pittsburg State University and Washburn University removed application fees.

Private colleges in Kansas not part of the Kansas Independent College Association may not be participants in the Apply Free Days network.

The state Board of Regents recommended potential students apply to college and then submit a free application for . The FAFSA would provide information about student grants, scholarships and work-study positions that could reduce the cost of a college education. Another option would be to apply for state aid through the .

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on and .

As a first-generation college graduate from South Texas, Priscilla Lugo believed a degree was the key to financial stability and independence.

“My parents didn’t go to college and [I was] always being sold this [idea], ‘go to school and you’ll get everything you’ve ever needed, you’ll have everything you will need to take care of yourself,’’’ she said.

But her undergraduate degree and two master’s degrees from The University of Texas at Austin came with a high price tag — despite receiving financial aid and scholarships, Lugo ended up with $30,000 in student loan debt.

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Now, as payments on her student loans resumed this month and she braces for the financial adjustments she’ll have to make, Lugo said she’s “really feeling lied to and misled.”

A pause on federal student loan interest ended Sept. 1, nearly four years after former President Donald Trump provided borrowers with relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. President Joe Biden extended the pause after his campaign promised to help millions of borrowers with crushing student debt if elected. But any hopes for extended relief were dashed after the.

The Texas Tribune asked readers to share their stories of how they benefited from the student loan repayment pause, and how resuming payments will impact their finances. Some said the pause allowed them to contribute funds to their retirement and savings accounts for the first time; others said resuming payments means they will need to get a second job to be able to afford rent, utilities and groceries.

Having to resume payments on her loans worries Lugo, who works in Austin at a Latino civil rights nonprofit. She said her already limited savings will likely diminish to make ends meet and she worries she’ll never be able to afford a home or have enough money in the bank for an emergency.

“It is stressful because I know my credit card debt will go up, especially with the rate of inflation and rising cost of living,” Lugo said. “I already worry that I am not putting enough money into my retirement fund to sustain my future. I worry about what this will do for not only my immediate future, but the long-term future.”

Lugo said she feels misled by the Biden administration, which promised student loan relief to the millions of borrowers across the country like her. Despite applying for an — which considers an individual’s household income to calculate their monthly loan payment amount — Lugo said making payments will still put her in a tough spot financially. In addition to a tight budget, Lugo said the burden of researching and understanding complex student loan debt repayment plans has fallen on her with no clear communication or assistance from her loan provider.

Taylor Kidd, who lives in Houston and graduated with about $40,000 in student debt after receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees, said unanswered questions and confusing directions have made the process of paying off his student loans frustrating and anxiety-inducing, even though he and his partner are financially able to pay off their loans.

“I’m appreciative [of loans], but I really don’t think I should spend the rest of my life not owning a home or not being able to save for retirement,” he said.

In talking with neighbors and friends who have paid off their student loans, Kidd said he has noticed a lack of compassion toward those still struggling to pay them off. Some critics of student loan forgiveness worry that providing relief to borrowers would exacerbate inflation by putting more money in their pockets for high-ticket goods, though loan experts believe . Others simply say borrowers should take responsibility for their loans and not expect help from taxpayers.

The cost of higher education in Texas and across the country has increased in recent years. A released last year by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shows a “substantial amount of unmet financial need among Texas residents attending Texas institutions of higher education.”

The report found that 73% of undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrated need received aid, while 7% of students who demonstrated need did not receive it. Additionally, the report found that financial aid might not be going to the students who need it the most, with 20% of students receiving aid despite not having demonstrated a need for it.

Even though most students in need receive some level of financial aid, undergraduate students attending public universities in 2021 had an average of $12,947 in unmet needs — over half of the average cost to attend college, according to the report.

Linda Richards, a therapist who lives outside of Houston, graduated with $38,000 in student loan debt after earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Illinois in 2001.

Decades later, she has paid nearly double what she initially borrowed — something she blames on the high-interest rate attached to her loans. Richards applied for the income-based repayment plan announced by Biden in August, but because the plan takes into account the borrower’s entire household income and her husband’s income is higher than hers, her monthly loan payments have actually increased significantly.

Richards, 59, paid off her credit card debt during the repayment pause and directed the money she saved into her retirement account. As repayments resume with increases to her payment requirements, Richards said she won’t be able to save for retirement anymore.

“It’s kind of scary knowing I’m probably not going to be able to retire,” she said.

Tanya Garcia with the Institute for College Access and Success said in recent years the financing of higher education has fallen more on students and their families rather than the institutions or the state.

Garcia said a vast majority of students attend less well-resourced, underfunded institutions that typically serve a higher proportion of students of color and low-income students. Those students often do not receive enough operational funding and support and make up for it by taking student loans.

After the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Biden administration came up with other proposals to address the student loan debt crisis.

The Higher Education Act of 1965 gives U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona leeway to “compromise, waive or release” some federal student loans, which would allow federal officials to craft other solutions for those struggling with debt. But borrowers will have to wait several months for a proposal. The act will need to go through a negotiated rulemaking process, which includes public hearings and can take up to a year.

In the meantime, Biden is offering a 12-month “on-ramp” repayment plan so borrowers who miss a payment won’t be referred to credit agencies, avoiding default on their loans.

Garcia said these proposals are a small step forward in addressing the student loan debt crisis, but she added that Texas and the rest of the country still have a long way to go.

“If we don’t figure out a way of removing student loans as the financing option, for at least the most low income students, we’re not going to be able to build a talented workforce, in Texas, or anywhere,” she said.

Disclosure: University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete .

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KIPP middle and high school students were 31 percentage points more likely to enroll in a four-year college within three years of high school versus those students who were not selected, according to And their likelihood of graduating college within five years after high school shot up by 19 percentage points.

Among Mathematica’s sample of students, the effect of attending both a KIPP middle school and high school was so large that if it were applied to all students nationally, the longstanding college completion gap between Black and Hispanic students and their white peers would nearly close.

“The magnitude of these impact estimates is large, and effects of this size have substantial policy relevance,” the researchers write. 

KIPP, which got its start in Houston in 1994, now serves 120,000 students across 21 states and Washington, D. C. It currently operates 117 elementary, 121 middle and 42 high schools. 

KIPP enrolls mostly Black and Hispanic students from low-income communities, children who have been historically underserved and have lower high school and college completion rates. 

KIPP places much emphasis and resources on supporting its alumni through college and into their early careers. The model of following through with children beyond high school has seen tremendous success elsewhere: Students who participated in Chicago’s program, which spans students’ junior and senior year of high school in addition to their freshman year of college, had a 40% greater chance of earning a bachelor’s degree than their peers, a recent study found.

“We just have an unyielding belief in children and … we’re frankly willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that every child fulfills their potential,” said Shavar Jeffries, who joined the KIPP Foundation as CEO in January 2023.

The study tracked 2,066 students who applied to 21 KIPP middle schools in 2008, 2009 or 2011. Mathematica senior fellow Philip Gleason first studied KIPP in 2007, four years after his company began a broader that showed marked improvement in the achievement of children who attended charters in city centers.

“We wanted to know what was going on in these schools and KIPP was the largest network of charters that served students in urban areas,” he said. 

The 2007 study showed KIPP middle school students outperformed their peers — children who applied to the program but were not selected through the lottery system — in both reading and math. 

In this latest report, Mathematica went back to the students in the 2007 study to see whether they attended or completed college, using data obtained through the National Student Clearinghouse. 

While the findings were consistent with their earlier work, Gleason found the degree to which KIPP middle and high school students outperformed their peers surprising. 

“The earlier studies were also positive in terms of their impact on academic achievement,” he said. “But what we did not know was how important the combined effect of going to a KIPP middle and high school would be.” 

Jeffries attributes the results to KIPP’s academic program — and to its efforts to counsel students long after graduation. 

“We are very intentional,” he said, adding that staff work hard to help every high school student find their path. “We have partnerships with well over 100 colleges throughout the country. We do a lot of work to match students with postsecondary placements.”

He said, too, that staff believe in the success of all students. 

“We go above and beyond,” Jeffries said. “We tend to have longer school days and longer school years. And we use data in very intentional ways so that in our classrooms, on an ongoing real-time basis, we can differentiate our instruction based upon where a kid is at any given point in time.”

While Jeffries said the network is very focused now on learning loss recovery following the pandemic, there are plans over the next five years, a KIPP spokesperson said, to open as many high schools as possible with an aim that every KIPP 8^th grader would be able to attend a KIPP high school.

Some 70% of students offered admission to a KIPP middle school attend one, the study found. Roughly 75% of these students graduate from those schools and approximately 71% of these graduates continue on to a KIPP high school.

Makala Faniel, 25 and who enrolled in KIPP WAYS Atlanta in fifth grade, credits the program with much of her academic and professional success. 

College readiness was built into the curriculum, she said, and counselors routinely helped students research universities, choose the right Advanced Placement courses to boost their chance of acceptance, fill out the Common Application and apply for key programs within a particular school.

Faniel visited the University of Pennsylvania as a middle schooler and would graduate from the college in 2020 with a degree in material science. 

“That early exposure really helped,” said Faniel, who is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in bioengineering at Georgia Tech University. 

She said KIPP’s partnerships with colleges and universities provided much-needed support: Faniel was in regular contact with other KIPP students at UPENN who helped her navigate next steps. 

Even after college, when she was first considering graduate school, she once again called on KIPP resources. 

“I talked to a lot of my former teachers when I was thinking about grad school, trying to figure out what do I do? How do I apply? What do I need?” she said. “I changed majors between undergrad and graduate school, so I talked to them about making that transition.” 

Ivelyn Camano-Lucero, 16 and a senior at KIPP NYC College Prep, hopes to study computer science at Yale. 

She will be among the first in her family to attend college: Her older brother was a student at Syracuse University while her sister studies at Fordham. All three attended KIPP schools. 

The youngest of the trio, Camano-Lucero, who lives near the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, wants to become a cybersecurity engineer. 

She talks often with other students about her plans beyond high school and noticed that those who attend other public schools don’t seem to have as much support. 

“When I talk to my friends about my career counselor, they aren’t familiar with that,” she said. “I think that aspect is pretty different.”

Kelly Gallagher, KIPP NYC manager of college counseling, said the counselors on staff have manageable caseloads: a maximum of 60 students each, allowing them to work closely with each of them.

Counselors edit college essays, talk to the families about their student’s next steps, explain the documentation needed to obtain financial aid — and how to appeal when schools don’t provide enough, among a host of other duties, Gallagher said. 

Another set of staffers, the College Success Team, visit students at college at least once per semester, she said. Students who are headed for the military, seek to pursue certifications or enter the workforce also have designated staffers to help them progress. 

“This is my 10^th year at the high school and I have former students who are now my coworkers,” Gallagher said, adding it’s not hard to focus KIPP students’ attention on college. “They are excited about it.”

The Mathematica study released today leverages the lottery-based samples from the earlier research and was funded by , a philanthropy which has given millions of dollars to KIPP since 2011.

Disclosure: Walton Family Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the City Fund provide financial support to KIPP and ����Ӱ��.

Yet, despite states’ best efforts, data about postsecondary success is alarming. One found that 56% of Americans think earning a four-year degree is not worth the cost. Skepticism about higher education is rising, . So how do policymakers and education leaders prepare students for the future in a time of exceptional academic challenges across all grade levels?

By integrating college classes into high school. This reduces cost and improves outcomes.

This is a moment when America needs to reimagine the K-12 experience, remove barriers to higher ed and achieve K-16 results with K-12 dollars.

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It starts with the college readiness exam. At , the network of public charter schools that I run in Indiana and Louisiana, every high school student — all of whom live in high-poverty areas — takes a college entrance exam for free, starting in ninth grade. If they pass, they’re enrolled in classes immediately at a local college or university, starting in their first year in high school, alongside their traditional 9-12 curriculum. If they don’t pass, we prepare them until they do.

Having all students take college readiness exams, such as the College Board’s , provides each one with an academic roadmap, telling educators the kind of support they need for college preparedness. Then, our K-16 model provides transportation to our partner community and four-year colleges. This exposes students who otherwise might never have even considered getting a higher degree to college classes on real college campuses, with other college-level students.

All this — the cost of exams, registration, tuition, textbooks and transportation — is covered by our network through existing funding, without any added expense to taxpayers.

We deliver K-16 outcomes on K-12 dollars.

Experiencing college provides unquestionable social benefits for high school students, particularly those who come from low-income backgrounds. As college enrollment declines, learning how to navigate higher education while in high school makes it likelier that students will attain a degree, because college classes and campus life aren’t foreign to them. It’s a seamless transition.

There’s a financial benefit to our students as well. Working toward a high school diploma and a degree simultaneously means students will take on no debt while earning college credit, making them more likely to gain a degree while saving them precious dollars in the process.

What are the academic outcomes? This May, GEO Academies will graduate 22 students who will have earned a college degree before they receive their high school diploma. Last year, one of our students, who began taking college classes at age 11, completed his associate degree by age 13 — the youngest in Indiana to do that. He will complete a full bachelor’s degree while in high school, our third student to achieve this goal, by the time he turns 15.

The numbers speak for themselves. The graduation rate at our Gary school, 21st Century Charter School, is 22 points higher than the district average (94.5% versus 72.8%) and even surpasses the state’s overall average of 86.5%. Our college and career readiness rating, as calculated by the Indiana Department of Education, is 50 points higher than the district’s (88.9%, compared with 37.6%) and again beats the state average (68.1%).

Louisiana does not track college and career readiness like Indiana does, but it did report that just 159 of 42,650 graduates in 2019 received associate degrees while in high school. This year, we will have our first graduating class, with 10% of our 60 seniors earning an associate degree.

Integrating college classes into the high school experience for all students is truly a scalable model that is yielding game-changing results for high-poverty children. But the barriers to doing so are clear: It requires policymakers to rethink what it means to go to high school and reimagine higher education as part of an educational continuum for students.

Reinventing the high school experience requires bold thinking.

Fortunately, America has the funding to be innovative. Tens of billions of have gone unspent, and many states and districts — so often risk-averse — can capitalize on this moment as an opportunity to reimagine the high school experience.��

As policymakers search for answers to accelerate learning, they should look to students in schools in Gary, Indianapolis, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Our schools are showing why college has never been more important and are providing the blueprint for integrating college credits into the high school experience.

In our home state of Connecticut, more than require higher education, yet only of high school graduates from low-income backgrounds earn a college degree within six years. Through our Pledge to Advance Connecticut (PACT) program, the state’s are essentially free — but only if students complete the FAFSA.

The pandemic forced the education community to reimagine how we support schools and students in pursuit of college and certificate programs. So in December 2020, leveraging federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, the Connecticut State Department of Education, the Office of the Governor and the launched the . The idea was to partner with high schools in new ways to improve their FAFSA rates.

Now in its third year, the investment is paying off for over 21,000 Connecticut students who have already completed the FAFSA. In March, Connecticut’s FAFSA completion rate , up from 45.8% in 2022 and surpassing the .

How is Connecticut moving the needle on FAFSA completion and advancing the goal of postsecondary success for all students?

• Partnerships to Build Capacity: Over the past three years, schools with low FAFSA completion rates and high concentrations of need have been invited to participate in the FAFSA Challenge. School leaders and educators participate in a statewide community of practice, meeting monthly to educators review data, share promising practices, and troubleshoot barriers and obstacles. Schools also participate in monthly coaching with RISE, and educators have access to free FAFSA training via . Additionally, the department has partnered with colleges and community-based organizations to better connect schools, students and families with service providers.

• Resources to Fund Innovation: Through American Rescue Plan funding, schools participating in the challenge receive microgrants to pursue innovative strategies to promote FAFSA completion, such as family events, communications campaigns and staff stipends. For example, Norwalk’s Brien McMahon High School formed a FAFSA Task Force of teachers and counselors who receive training to support a caseload of students. Together they review data, share ideas and stay motivated as a team working toward a shared goal. Bridgeport’s Central High School expanded its family engagement efforts. Counselors reach out to caregivers of students who have not completed the FAFSA and promote the campaign through school signs and raffles that recognize students after they complete this important milestone.

• Data to Drive Action: Too often, educators lack the user-friendly data necessary to provide students with timely and equitable support. A new and data tools allow schools to monitor their progress daily and personalize support for students and families. These tools also promote shared accountability for results. They were made possible through a data-sharing agreement among the department, the Office of Higher Education and school districts. Gov. Ned Lamont’s 2021 workforce bill further spurred FAFSA completion and the focus on these data by requiring school districts to adopt policies to improve completion rates.

The FAFSA Challenge represents a coordinated, collaborative and multifaceted approach to promote FAFSA completion. In 2020-21, schools participating in the challenge increased their completion rates by 4 percentage points, and in 2021-22, that number doubled to 8 points. Building on the successes of the first two years, the 57 schools participating in the 2022-23 FAFSA Challenge are already on pace to exceed these results by the end of the school year.

Schools are working together in new ways to promote FAFSA completion and postsecondary success, closing opportunity gaps for students and enabling them to achieve their dreams despite financial barriers.

We challenge other states across the country to make FAFSA completion a core component of their education and economic recovery efforts. Connecticut’s approach is customized to its needs, but also highly replicable. By working together to improve educational outcomes, state policymakers and their partners can contribute to increased employment, decreased incarceration, and better economic prosperity for local communities and the nation. 

Enrollment trends for community colleges in North Carolina and nationally are headed in the right direction, but in most cases colleges have not caught up to pre-pandemic levels – much less pre-Great Recession numbers.

State funding is largely tied to enrollment, so it is a trend colleges can’t afford not to watch.

The budget full-time equivalent (FTE) – how the NCCCS is funded for enrollment – is up 1.7% this year, but also down from pre-pandemic levels. The number of students served across the (NCCCS), known as headcount, , but is down 10% from fall 2019. Both trends impact students and colleges alike.

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“Increasing enrollment is probably one of the that we’re hearing about from community college presidents, trustees, and administrators,” Patrick Crane, vice president of strategic initiatives at the system office, “…We know that there are already significant attainment gaps, educational attainment gaps, by race, ethnicity, and by county across the state. And so not addressing this just continues to widen those gaps as well.”

Many variables impact enrollment, including shifting labor trends, and population shifts, barriers to retaining students, and more. NCCCS leaders say solutions require being intentional, serving historically underserved populations, and thinking beyond a one-size-fits-all approach.

“Reversing the decade-long decline in community college enrollment is the highest priority for our system,” Burr Sullivan, chair of the State Board of Community Colleges, said

This article takes a look at enrollments trends, the ways FTE is counted and why that matters, along with headcount data and why we need to be thinking more about the total number of students served – and how that relates to investment in community colleges.

History of enrollment trends

While the pandemic exacerbated enrollment declines, it did not create them. Enrollment has been trending down since it peaked during the Great Recession in 2010-11.

Many higher education institutions across the country have seen enrollment declines over the last decade, though the pandemic.

Enrollment declines at our community colleges also largely map with population declines, according to Bill Schneider, NCCCS associate vice president of research and performance management.

In December 2021, he told the State Board that 46 of the 58 colleges had.

Counties with declining populations generally experience enrollment and FTE declines, Schneider said, while counties with population growth tend to see enrollment growth.

With this reality in mind, Schneider said it’s likely more rural colleges will continue to see declining enrollments compared to urban colleges – which would, in turn, result in less funding.

At the same time, many rural community colleges serve a critical role as one of the only postsecondary institutions in their communities.

That role includes training the early child care workforce, training first responders, training the health care workforce, creating opportunities for students in high school through early college and Career and College Promise, providing customized training for industry, imagining the future of work, providing local leadership, and more. It is not clear what community colleges in the face of enrollment funding declines.

Enrollment determines funding, staffing, and more

Enrollment in community colleges is one of the simplest ways the system and the state can assess its success in meeting its open-door mission to students across North Carolina.

As EdNC has :

Declining enrollment at our state’s community colleges is problematic for the state as a whole. Growing economies require an educated population, and a robust community college system expands the number of residents able to get an education. 

Understanding this is crucial in the management and evaluation of the community college system. Not only does enrollment signal the demand for education in our state, but it also has significant ramifications for how community colleges are funded, staffed, and measured for success.

Enrollment at community college is broken into three main categories: curriculum, continuing education, and basic skills courses. 

Students do not take a uniform number of classes, and classes can be worth a variety of credits. So universities have developed a unit of measure called full-time equivalent, or FTE, that uses a set number of credits to define a full-time student rather than rely on a traditional headcount. This allows colleges to look at their student body in the aggregate for budget and planning purposes. In plain terms, it allows the college to count multiple part-time students as one full-time student based on the number of credits taken. The state then bases funding on the number of full-time equivalents.

Currently, one FTE is equivalent to 512 hours of instruction.

Many feel that funding based on FTEs, not actual students, misses many of the costs associated with part-time students, such as career counseling, tutoring, mental health, and other wrap around services.

Colleges must provide the same support for students, whether they are taking one course or they are full-time students.

What is happening nationally?

Nationally, community college enrollment is starting to grow this spring (+2.1%), according to February 2023 from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

That growth is largely fueled by increased enrollment among dual enrollees (age 17 and under) and freshmen, the report says. The growth is taking place at community colleges in cities, suburbs, and rural regions, unlike trends across four-year institutions reflecting rural declines.

This research is based on unweighted enrollment counts to emphasize year-over-year changes in enrollment patterns, rather than estimating total enrollment numbers.

Trends in FTE in North Carolina

It is important to note the difference between actual FTE, budget FTE, and instructional FTE.

Actual FTE reflects instruction shared between colleges and also adjusts for errors in previous term reporting. To see actual FTE data, start . Once actual is clicked at the bottom of that page, you can then click on the tabs throughout the dashboard to see the data.

Budget FTE reflects the number of FTE for which colleges are funded through state funding formulas. To see budget FTE data, start . Once budget is clicked at the bottom of that page, you can then click on the tabs throughout the dashboard to see the data.

This year, the NCCCS estimated an overall 1.7% increase for fall 2023 in budget full-time equivalent (FTE) – also included in Gov. Roy Cooper’s recommended budget and the proposed Republican House budget.

That 1.7% increase represents an additional 3,800 FTE, NCCCS Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Brandy Andrews .

“While the basic skills instruction shows the highest percent increase, I would like to call your attention to the workforce continuing education increase of almost 1,600 FTE,” Andrews said. “This shows our colleges are working hard delivering programs for students to meet workforce needs.”

is the dashboard for instructional FTE data. You can select to see system or college data, the reporting time frame (terms or years), and more.

Thirty-eight N.C. community colleges saw growth in their from fall 2021 to fall 2022.

In comparison, only 11 colleges have seen increases in instructional FTE since before the pandemic in fall 2019. NCCCS instructional FTE is down 7% overall since then.

One of those schools – – is a sizable outlier, with a 44% increase in FTE since fall 2019. President Jay Carraway said he believes one reason for the continued growth is how intentional the college has been about recruiting and marketing.

“There’s a lot that goes into recruiting and retaining students… We are very intentional about what we do and how we do it,” Carraway told EdNC. “From the time you drive off the state road, and you come onto our campus, you begin to see that we pay attention to detail.”

At , President Maria Pharr credits the school’s success in enrolling more students to “a new approach to education” – . The Learning Reimagined program aims to increase access, remove barriers, and provide flexibility to meet diverse student needs by expanding learning options like HyFlex, adopting an online textbook model, and creating several short-term credentials, among other things.

“After the pandemic and recent economic challenges, many people have been re-prioritizing their careers and goals, and many turned to higher education to make their new goals a reality,” Pharr told EdNC. “At South Piedmont Community College, we’ve been able to meet that changing demand through investments in technologies and the willingness to meet the contemporary needs of our students.”

A look at headcount data

Headcount data is unduplicated within the time period, within individual colleges, and within the system. is the dashboard.

Approximately 574,378 students were enrolled in the system over 2021-22, which you can find by selecting the “2021-22 reporting year” option on the dashboard.

To get more recent data, you need to compare enrollment year-over-year by term. Data from groups like the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center typically report on enrollment trends using headcount data.

The number of students served across the NCCCS increased 3% from fall 2021 to fall 2022,, with 377,462 students enrolled in at least one class last semester. That’s a 10% decrease from before the pandemic, in fall 2019, or 44,000 fewer students.

Across the system, only five colleges have seen, pre-pandemic enrollment: (5%), (5%), (4%), (2%), (0% but 19 students).

Each of the other 53 community colleges have seen decreases in headcount since fall 2019, ranging from 1% all the way to 34%.

Enrollment of adult learners on the rise

The investments being made in adult learners help us see why headcount matters.

The number of adult learners enrolled in N.C. community colleges increased by 10% since the system launched its two adult learner pilot programs, according to a . The enrollment of adult learners saw particularly strong growth in short-term workforce and continuing education courses, the release said.

North Carolina has two adult learner pilot programs, N.C. Reconnect and REACH, to reach students 25 and older at 29 participating colleges. The initiatives focus particularly on older students who have received some college credits previously, but have not graduated.

From 2020-2022, adult learner enrollment increased

The largest enrollment growth took place in workforce and continuing education courses, increasing 19% in the same time period. Those short-term courses are designed to provide individuals the skills and credentials needed to gain fast employment in high-demand industries. Additionally, adult basic skills increased by 37%.

Roughly half of North Carolina community college students are adult learners, and 58% were employed full time while taking college courses in fall 2022, the release said.

However you count it, who is not enrolled?

Nationwide, than in spring 2020, an enrollment decline nearly double that of female students.

At N.C. community colleges, , with enrollment declining 21% from fall 2019 to fall 2020 for this group. There were still about 10,000 fewer Black men enrolled across the NCCCS last fall from before the pandemic.

Community colleges enroll some of the most , including in North Carolina. That means at least part of the solution to enrollment declines must include colleges meeting diverse student needs.

“They are 16 years old and they’re 73 years old and they’re everything in between,” Janet Spriggs, president of told EdNC last August regarding community college students. “They are working parents, single mothers, and they’re facing all kinds of life circumstances that most people don’t recognize.”

Many NCCCS leaders say their colleges are enrolling more part-time students, and that it often takes more resources to support part-time students. At the same time, colleges must enroll more part-time students to receive the same budgeted FTE as for full-time students.

In recent years, North Carolina community colleges have increasingly added support – part- and full-time alike.

Over students did not return to college their second year, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC).

Retention and enrollment must go hand in hand, according to President Scott Ralls. Wake Tech – the system’s largest campus – has seen a 10% decrease in the number of students enrolled as of fall 2022 compared to before the pandemic.

“If you’re interested, as we have been in the community colleges for years, in student success, student success comes through completion. And retention is about completion,” Ralls previously told EdNC. “So the enrollment battle — much more of it is about how you retain students than it is about just recruiting new students. You can’t get to your completion goals without retention, and you can’t get to your enrollment goals without retention either.”

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Across all four-year universities and community colleges, male freshmen enrollment declined by 1.3 percent compared to female freshmen enrollment which declined by 3.2 percent, the research center found. 

Between fall 2020 to 2022, there was a 1.5 percent drop among college freshmen, 90 percent of which are students aged 18 to 20 years old.

The steepest drops among college freshmen in fall 2022 were white, Asian and Black students who declined by 7, 3.2 and 2 percentage points respectively.

“The pandemic disproportionately harmed women, particularly women of color and low-income women, and this is one more example of that impact,” said Catherine Brown, senior director of policy and advocacy for the .

Brown noted that women were often the ones who “stepped up to homeschool, to take care of children, to take care of parents and to take care of people with health problems” during the pandemic.

Stephen Barker, director of communications at said the caretaking trend trickled down to young women who were “disproportionately caring for siblings at home while their parents were working.”

“There were a lot of barriers for girls to get through the school work and graduate from high school. It’s something unique to a lot of girls who would have otherwise been college bound,” Barker said. 

Despite an overall 4.2 percent drop in college enrollment since fall 2020 among all students, the declines have slowed down and are comparable to pre-pandemic rates, the research center found.

The group looked at 42 states and found enrollment declines in 27 this fall. While some states had increases — South Carolina, New Hampshire, and New Mexico had the largest — Alaska, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri and Nevada saw the largest declines, between 4.3 and 5.2 percentage points. 

The decline in freshmen female college enrollment is a “new phenomenon” that may take several years for recovery, Barker added. 

“As the economy recovers and we’re past this need for something immediate for girls to support their family and themselves, then I think we’ll see them pivoting and returning back to school,” Barker said.

Two female college freshmen who did enroll said they could both see and feel the pandemic’s impact on young womens’ secondary school plans.

When she got to campus, Caroline Holtman, a freshman engineering major at Texas A&M University, discovered that only a fraction of her classmates were female.

“There are a few classes I’m in where the girls are severely outnumbered. For one of my classes, the ratio was one girl to every four or five guys,” Holtman, 18, told ����Ӱ��.

“That was probably the biggest challenge going from [high school] classes that are pretty evenly split between guys and girls to classes where all I see are men,” Holtman said.

The initial barriers finding a community of female friends in her STEM classes was difficult, she added. 

“I knew that I’d be going through this degree with very few women, but I really didn’t understand the magnitude of it until I got here,” Holtman said.

Pooja Muthuraj, a freshman at the College of William & Mary planned to pursue a lengthy academic path to become a doctor, but said the pandemic influenced her views on what a healthy family life should look like.

“Having to spend that much of your life at school affects me and my female friends in particular because our biological realities impact us more than men,” Muthuraj, 18, told ����Ӱ��.

“It’s definitely a concern when thinking about having a family in the future,” Muthuraj said after watching her mom struggle to balance career and family.

Instead, Muthuraj plans to pursue a career in health nonprofit. 

“They’re decisions I don’t think I would have considered so much if the pandemic never occurred,” Muthuraj said.

A newly released�� shows total post-high school enrollment fell by about 685,000 students in spring 2022. In the wake of COVID-19 losses and disruptions, U.S. colleges and universities have lost 1.3 million students over the past two years.

In a world where higher education is to good jobs and better lives, too many Americans are being left behind. But suggesting students no longer value a college degree are wrong. In fact, our recent shows the opposite: There is high demand and interest in higher education. But many can neither access nor afford it.

The survey found that who left college during the pandemic say they want to return to school. Over half, 56%, of those who were enrolled before the pandemic are considering going back. And 40% of those who never went to college say they want to enroll.

Students told Gallup the reasons they aren’t enrolling or staying in school are that they’re worried about the cost, have tremendous stress, feel unprepared academically and struggle with heavy family and work obligations. It is probably not a surprise that the expense of college is the top factor cited by people not currently in school (59%  of those enrolled before COVID, 52%  who were enrolled during the pandemic and 54% of those who never enrolled). Family responsibilities were cited by one-third, work conflicts by about one- quarter. An overwhelming 76% of bachelor’s degree students and 63% of associate degree students point to stress as the main reason they may leave college. Students are twice as likely to cite stress over other concerns, including COVID-19 (33%), cost (36%/3%) or difficult coursework (34%/24%).  

Only 16% of those who left college during the pandemic and 20% of those who never enrolled say the reason is that additional education lacks value. In other words, most students believe hold them back.

Turning this tide means accelerating change, transforming policies and practices to serve the urgent needs of who are older and more diverse than in years past and are often stretched thin on time, money and support. Nearly 49% pay their own bills, 24% are raising children and more than 64% work, 40% of them full time.

Community colleges continue to suffer the most, with a total loss of well over 800,000 students since spring 2020. Most concerning are the data showing dramatically lower numbers of Hispanic and Black students in community college programs. Black enrollment is down nearly 25% at two-year colleges since the start of the pandemic, and Hispanic enrollment fell nearly 15%. The nation isn’t close to bridging the that are the key to our collective prosperity. This is troubling news.

It is clear Americans value higher education as an important step in finding an ideal job and building a brighter future. To make that a reality not just for current students or the 1.3 million lost since 2019, but also for the millions who never considered enrolling, it is essential to accelerate change and eliminate barriers by focusing on finances, comprehensive student support, and mental and emotional health.

• Cost. Schools must find ways to make college affordable and better communicate financial aid packages to students, because money is the No. 1 reason they enroll or stay in school. It is also essential that colleges eliminate that hold transcripts or enrollment hostage over unpaid parking tickets or other small fees. 
  
• Comprehensive student support. Young people face family and work obligations that often make higher education difficult or impossible. To help them, schools must invest in ways to support them with help ranging from child care and to virtual advising and emergency aid. In addition, institutions must offer clear to better inform individuals about what opportunities their degree will offer.
   
• Counseling. Amid a rash of heartbreaking , suicide now is the  for young people ages 10 to 24. Students must have easy access to affordable mental health care through online and real-time therapists and emergency hotlines. 

By understanding today’s students — and closely following the data — the nation can help millions of Americans improve their lives through the power of learning. 

Problem is, I get the impression none of them has ever reported from an actual elementary school, where these gender gaps start.

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This week, New York Times writer Thomas Edsall into an issue, this time the “boy troubles.” The theories from the academics appeared to reflect their personal areas of research: fatherless families, jobs offshoring, a constant need to act macho and the slowly maturing male brain.

One example, from Frances Elizabeth Jensen, chair of the department of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, responding to Edsall’s query:

Teens go through a period of increased emotional fluctuation and are like a Ferrari with weak brakes. The emotional center of the brain, the limbic system, which controls emotions, is fully connected, but the frontal lobe that sharpens critical thinking isn’t well-connected. That means the part of the brain that makes them pause and say to themselves, “Bad idea. Don’t post that on Facebook because it might hurt my chances of getting a job in the future” or “Don’t jump in the lake, there may be a rock,” isn’t mature.

I get that, especially after watching over my grandsons. How do they ever survive through high school?

The issue I have with all their theories is that most don’t explain the recent decline. Boys have always had slower-maturing brains. And none of them appear to dive into elementary school classrooms where, as best as I could determine while researching my 2011 book, many of these recent gender problems originate.

First: the recent news about men: A about the slipping numbers of men enrolling and graduating from college expertly laid out the dilemma. Soon, there will be two females earning bachelor’s degrees for every one male.

Is that a problem? Veteran higher education columnist Kevin Carey doesn’t think so, and he made his case in a recent New York Times . Carey’s argument is familiar: Just because women are doing better doesn’t mean men are doing worse.

But the bulk of the recent reporting seems to favor the we-have-a-problem side of the argument, and When you weigh the considerable societal impacts that are part of this trend, an increase in single parenting and a rise in political polarization between the educated and less-educated, we have a problem.

So, what to do about it? The issue I have with explanations such as excessive machismo is not only have these factors been around forever, and thus can’t explain recent declines, but they are also immutable. What, exactly, is going to turn around machismo or male brain-maturation time?

As a result, these observations don’t lead to solutions. And there are solutions that can turn around at least some of the problems we’re seeing with boys and men.

In my book, I sifted through multiple explanations offered for boys falling behind, and settled on one that can both explain the recent boys-failing phenomenon and is not immutable: literacy shortfalls.

Yes, boys do mature slower, especially in the acquisition of literacy skills. In the book, I describe my shock when visiting our oldest daughter’s first-grade class. While the girls were sketching out graceful letters, the boys were tearing holes in the paper with deathgrip clutches on pencils.

At the time, I recall innocently wondering: Did our daughter just happen to land in a class full of boy dunces? Eventually, of course, the boys caught up in reading, at least by fourth or fifth grade, and all was good.

But those were the days before education “reform” changed elementary school. Starting with the 1989 governors education summit in Charlottesville, nearly all states ramped up their curriculum to prepare students for a world where college was the new high school.

The governors’ logic was prescient, but the follow-through by school systems was lacking. Schools pushed their reading demands up by roughly two grades, meaning even some kindergarteners are expected to keep journals. But most teachers failed to shift strategies so that boys would not fall behind.

In short, girls adapted to an early push on literacy skills, but boys couldn’t. Soon, non-reading boys were seen by teachers as aggressive and in need of discipline, while the boys themselves concluded that school was for girls. Suddenly, video games became far more appealing.

Does this explain everything behind the sinking fortunes of boys in school? Of course not, but it explains enough that reversing these harmful practices could make a dent in the dismaying trend we saw in the Wall Street Journal data.

How? There’s a long list, starting with better literacy instruction for elementary school teachers so they all follow research-based methods that embrace extensive instruction in phonics. And don’t fear comic books and graphic novels — many boys get their reading launched that way.

For parents, it’s a matter of watching your son’s literacy growth and being aware of online resources such as . If your elementary teachers aren’t assigning reading that appeals to your son, find it yourself. And dads — and moms — stop reading with your daughters and throwing footballs with your sons.

In K-12 schools, there’s been a successful push to catch girls up on math and science, but a resistance to doing the same for boys around reading. Why?

After my book was published, I had many with representatives from advocacy groups such as the American Association of University Women, which is closely tied to the female-dominated teachers unions. The AAUW is a key skeptic of boys falling behind in school and the primary advocate for . My bottom line from many interactions: Groups such as AAUW downplay the boys’ problems in K-12 schools and ignore the rising gender gaps in college for a simple reason. They see this as a zero sum game: Doing something for boys on literacy would subtract from what’s being done for girls in math and science. This has to cease.

Again, boy-friendly literacy instruction can’t solve the entire problem. The special burden that fatherless families place on young boys, for example, can’t be solved with graphic novels.

But if we know there’s a problem out there, and we also know of a solution that addresses a good chunk of the problem, what’s holding us back?

Education writer Richard Whitmire is the author of six books. His first was “Why Boys Fail: Saving our Sons From an Educational System That’s Leaving Them Behind.”

“We sat down and we started talking about the experiences that we had in high school and what we felt the ecosystem of El Paso was in the education realm,” said Eric Diaz, a mathematics senior at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Although somewhat strangers to one another, they found a similarity in all of their experiences: a lack of knowledge on how to access and prepare for college.

“(We) looked at the struggles that we had when going to college, when applying for college, and looked at the fact that three of us were first-generation students,” Diaz said. “We realized that there was this sort of academic malnourishment in El Paso. That problem is because of a lot of reasons, but we noticed that it was just a little bit harder for us when we wanted to go to college.”

That conversation led to the creation of the , a non-profit organization that aims to mentor El Paso high school students as they prepare to transition to college.

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“We think it could really help out the youth of El Paso to accelerate their understanding of the importance of college as well as, feeling super confident in the transition over to college,” said Diaz, vice president and one of four co-founders.

Now in its second year, the network has over 60 members across the nation.

Known as the “Scholars Program,” local high school juniors are paired with mentors for two years. The mentors are native El Paosans and current college students from across the country.

Every two weeks, all of the network’s mentees and mentors meet as a group over Zoom to discuss various topics that include how many colleges to apply to, essay writing, how to fill out college applications, financial aid and more. The individual mentees and mentors also meet separately and develop their own relationships.

“The junior curriculum is more like, ‘Oh, let’s think about all the high level things about college, like what kind of college you want to go to and meeting recruiters.’ But senior year, we like to get a little bit more personal because we know social life is changing, so we look at college organizations or personal finances,” Diaz said.

Diaz said the network is able to explore topics that may not be addressed by high school counselors because the mentors are not much older than the students in the program.

“As current college students we know what it takes, so there’s specific workshops that we have that actually aren’t really addressed maybe by older generations like mental health,” Diaz said.

Adriel Bustillos, a senior at Mission Early College High School, is a mentee of the program and a first-generation college student. As an accelerated college high school student he’s already received an associate degree in business from El Paso Community College and is attending UTEP this fall to receive his bachelor’s in political science.

“I’m happy that I have this program to rely on to guide me every step because you do have your (school) counselors, but it’s okay to have a backup advisor or mentor to help you lead the way,” Bustillos said.

His mentor, Ana Rodriguez, studies political science at UTEP and is the network’s director of public relations.

“I think every mentor has had the process of realizing, ‘What could I do for this mentee?’ ‘What do I think I can give that maybe they’re not thinking of at the moment,’” Rodriguez said.

As a first-generation student and political science major, Bustillos said having a mentor that studies the same area has been beneficial.

“It closes the gap between college readiness and financial aid,” Bustillos said about his concerns on navigating financial aid for the first time. “I think it also gives you that push to actually do better and find opportunities for yourself.”

As his mentor, Rodriguez said she has been able to give him a reality check on his upcoming college journey.

“I think one of the biggest pieces that I wanted to provide Adriel was that support system. It’s OK if you don’t need me all the time, but sometimes it’s just about talking to someone and seeing where you’re at and thinking about what’s going on,” she said.

Diaz said the network is currently expanding to include more opportunities and mentorship programs.

“We’re starting to raise money to give out scholarships for our scholars,” he said.

Diaz said these scholarships would allow students to fly out and visit colleges they’re interested in. He also said the money will be used to pay for application fees and provide vouchers for SAT or ACT tests.

The network will also be adding a mentorship program for college students to connect them with professionals who are from El Paso.

“We’re creating a separate program called ‘EPLN Professionals’ where we get expat El Paso people who are across the country doing amazing things,” he said.

Diaz said it has been heartwarming to see the progress the network has been able to make since its establishment two years ago.

“It’s exciting because it was very homegrown,” he said. “Being able to expand on our interests and talk about how we want to come together as a network, and come together as a community, and give back to the city as much as we can is amazing.”

are currently being accepted for mentees and mentors for the program.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

It’s not worst-case scenario stuff. The 18-month dropoff was 8.7%, but administrators feared a 20% decrease.

By placing a premium on face-to-face learning — in the midst of a public health crisis — the Idaho schools served those students who were determined to start or continue college. Students who were willing to travel across state lines for an in-person classroom experience. Students who wouldn’t, or couldn’t, put their education on hold.

The story of Idaho higher education in 2020-21 is one of adaptation.

Boise State University administrators scrambled to move classes from lecture halls to the stands at ExtraMile Arena. Professors adjusted to move classes to an online platform, including hands-on labs that didn’t translate easily to the Zoom zone. Students adjusted to face masks, socially distanced dorms and cafeterias and frequent COVID tests — and some said they got into the habit of sleeping in, clicking on their laptops and quickly logging into an online class while wearing pajamas.

As a historic year ends, a challenge looms: reversing the 18-month enrollment decline.

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Idaho’s colleges and universities are in urgent need of student tuition and fees, after decades of receiving a shriveling slice of the state budget.

The enrollment problem is a financial and economic problem, since employers need qualified workers in order to locate, expand or stay in Idaho. Perhaps most importantly, a college degree opens new career options for Idaho’s young adults — who have said no to college in the past year, and in alarming numbers.

Idaho’s numbers and national patterns

In all, 53,391 students were enrolled this spring at Idaho’s two- and four-year schools. In fall 2019, pre-pandemic, enrollment totaled 58,454. (This number does not include dual-credit enrollment, high school students taking college-level classes through one of the institutions.)

Enrollment has fallen by at least 5 percent at every public college and university, save for the College of Eastern Idaho, the state’s smallest and newest community college.

The raw numbers tell only part of the story.

Last fall, that are hard to get under normal circumstances: first-generation college students and students who qualify for federal financial aid. Enrollment numbers for Hispanic students were mixed, increasing at some schools, decreasing at others.

Plus, nearly every college and university in the state saw a dropoff in first-year enrollment — recent high school graduates continuing their education.

Idaho’s community colleges have taken the brunt of the enrollment decline, much like their counterparts nationally. And the high school graduating class of 2020 didn’t just do a disappearing act in Idaho; nationally, freshman college enrollment fell by 13 percent and 20 percent at the community colleges.

In recent years, American colleges have made up ground on the equity gap, attracting a more diverse student body. But the decrease in first-year college enrollment has been most acute in high schools with high poverty or high numbers of minority students, said Douglas Shapiro, vice president for research and executive director for the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center in Herndon, Virginia.

“Overall, the effect has been that this pandemic, as in so many other areas, has been exposing and widening the existing inequities of our society,” Shapiro said during an Education Writers Association national seminar in May.

Idaho’s missing students

In the spring of 2020, the state’s three four-year universities were poised for an enrollment boom. Applications and admissions were strong, and it was only a question of how many prospects would arrive on campus.

When the pandemic hit, the rosy forecasts withered away.

For one thing, when Idaho high school seniors were sent home for the rest of the year, the job of the school adviser became even busier than before. They had less time to help seniors work their way through the college application gauntlet; shifting into triage mode, the advisers simply had to make sure seniors were keeping up with their high school work and on track to graduate.

“They were challenged just to get a hold of students,” said Kris Collins, Boise State University’s associate vice president for enrollment services.

At the University of Idaho, some of the trends are reversed.

For spring 2021, new, first-time student numbers are up 10 percent from a year ago. New students were willing to give a first year of college a try, and out-of-state students came seeking the face-to-face experience they couldn’t get at home, said Dean Kahler, the university’s vice provost for strategic enrollment management.

However, the U of I’s returning student numbers have fallen by nearly 6 percent since last spring, causing an overall enrollment decrease. Kahler clicked off several factors. Some students stayed home because of the economic downturn, others were worried about the virus, while others didn’t want a repeat of their online college experience from the spring of 2020.

Not unlike the scientists and infectious disease experts who have tried to unlock the mysteries of the coronavirus, college and university officials have been trying to determine the pandemic’s effects on their institutions.

Last summer, College of Southern Idaho officials were staring at a big enrollment dropoff. The numbers rebounded at the last minute. CSI Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Communication Chris Bragg isn’t quite sure why, but college officials have some theories.

CSI marketed aggressively during the summer. The college opened the campus to instant summer signup days, which allowed socially distanced students to show up for the first time, register for classes outdoors, and leave at the end of the day with a class schedule. The promise of some face-to-face instruction might have been a draw for students who were uneasy about enrolling at a costlier four-year school that couldn’t guarantee in-person instruction.

But mysteries remain. Pointing to , which tumbled to 38% last fall, Bragg isn’t really sure what became of the area high schools’ class of 2020, or whether these students might show up later.

“Our speculation is they’re still around,” he said.

A year of declining enrollment and changing demographics

To a large extent, Idaho colleges and universities are surviving the pandemic by attracting out-of-state students.

But while out-of-state students chose Idaho, Idaho students evidently chose a hiatus. That’s what Boise State learned when it tracked its no-show students. “They are taking a true wait and see,” Collins said. “They are legitimately sitting completely out.”

The result: Since the pandemic, in-state enrollment has fallen by 10.9%, while out-of-state enrollment has decreased by only 1.5%.

Nearly three of every four students in Idaho’s colleges and universities still come from Idaho. And the U of I and Boise State say that the out-of-state students will not squeeze out qualified in-state applicants. But the trend is clear. Boise State’s nonresident undergraduate enrollment has climbed from 4,422 to 6,400 since the spring of 2017. Nonresident applications are up 35 percent at the U of I, Kahler said, a result of marketing across the Western Undergraduate Exchange, a multistate program requiring out-of-state students to pay no more than 150 percent of a school’s in-state tuition.��

“It’s been incredibly intentional for us,” he said.

That sounds good, until you look at the flipside. Fewer in-state students, fewer first-generation and rural students and flat or decreasing Latino enrollment all add up to campuses that look a little bit less like Idaho itself.

It’s a troubling trend — and maybe an unsustainable one, especially if out-of-state students decide to stay close to home after the pandemic.

The pandemic has posed many challenges for Idaho colleges, while exposing the stubborn problem of trying to attract a more diverse student community.

Boise State President Marlene Tromp is acutely aware of the problem and the political implications, as conservative lawmakers question whether Idaho’s campuses reflect Idaho’s values. But as a first-generation college student from rural Green River, Wyoming, solving the enrollment problem, post-pandemic, is a personal cause.

“We have a special responsibility to serve students who were like me,” she said. “We do a disservice to the world if we don’t educate those young people and get their voices into the conversation.”

These stories were produced with support from an Education Writers Association fellowship.

This series, at a glance

Monday, June 21:��Eighteen months, 5,000 students: Idaho colleges and universities face a deep enrollment decline

Monday, June 21:��

Tuesday, June 22:

Wednesday, June 23:

Thursday, June 24:

Originally posted on on June 21, 2021