U.S. College Enrollment is Declining
/Several colleges and universities have observed a decline in admissions even a year after the pandemic initially disrupted admissions. This is particularly prevalent among low-income communities. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, “undergraduate enrollment is down 3.2% since fall 2020, largely mirroring last fall’s drop of 3.5%.”
In addition, community colleges saw no advantages from the recession-driven by the pandemic. Admissions among community colleges have been declining at a steady pace since 2019. Based on research from the Chronicle of Higher Education, “The first-year enrollment numbers at all institutions are 12.3% smaller than they were in 2019.” However, three schools in the Mississippi community college system have seen an increase in enrollment. Those schools are Northeast Mississippi, East Mississippi, and Mississippi Delta Community Colleges; however, these community colleges are an anomaly among the other schools throughout the United States.
To dive deeper into why college enrollment continues to decline, please review the links below:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/10/26/college-enrollment-down/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/10/25/community-college-enrollments-worry-campus-leaders
https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/