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Undergraduate Enrollment Way Down Compared to Last Year

Undergraduate Enrollment Way Down Compared to Last Year

“There was an increase in grad students, by 124,000 students, which cushioned the blow.”

The effects of the pandemic on higher education are going to be major, and we’re only seeing the beginning of it now.

The College Fix reports:

Undergrad enrollment takes huge hit, down 727,000 students

Enrollment in American colleges and universities nosedived this spring, with a decline of 603,000 students from the previous school year, or 3.5 percent, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Those larger numbers, if anything, undersell the decline and its potential long-term effects to higher education.

There was an increase in grad students, by 124,000 students, which cushioned the blow.

What that means according to the National Student Clearinghouse is that “Undergraduate students accounted for all of the decline, with a 4.9 percent drop or 727,000 students.”

Colleges and universities saw fewer undergrads enrolled almost across the board, but “community colleges remain hardest hit,” the research center reported.

In fact, “Over 65 percent of the total undergraduate enrollment losses occurred in the community college sector.”

Community colleges, which feature prominently in President Biden’s plans to give some free college to all Americans, had 467,000 fewer students enrolled, for a 9.5 percent decline.

Enrollment among college students of a traditional age range of 18 to 24 fell the most, largely due to the community college dropoff.

Male potential students declined to register in larger numbers than future female students.

There were “400,000 fewer male students and 203,000 fewer female students compared with last spring,” the research center reported.

The National Student Clearinghouse chalked up these declines to “the persistent impact of COVID-19 related disruptions,” a statement that is true in a few senses.

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Comments

The Friendly Grizzly | June 13, 2021 at 1:16 pm

How much is it the pandemic, and how much is it white males figuring out they won’t get hired no matter the degree?

henrybowman | June 13, 2021 at 3:51 pm

They’re discovering that for under $1K and two weeks of their time, they can attend a genuine, accredited clown school, and have immediate employment prospects to boot.
No contest.

healthguyfsu | June 13, 2021 at 6:09 pm

Why go to college if you don’t even need a job in Democrat America? Dems would vote in pandemic payments forever if it keeps them getting elected.

As a practical matter … take up a trade and you’ll make good money and have a skill that’s marketable all across America … not just in cities or in a field where you’ll be replaced by outsourcing, a computer or whatever.

    jb4 in reply to PODKen. | June 14, 2021 at 11:08 pm

    In principle, I agree that going into a trade is a good idea. However, most of the construction and home maintenance related trades have been taken over by Hispanics in NJ. That won’t get better with Biden admitting huge numbers of illegals.

    My alternative suggestion is to become a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant, getting the prereqs at a local community college. With an aging population and their interchangeability with general practitioners in many circumstances, at much less cost, should give solid demand. at good pay.

Is there a breakdown by socioeconomic status or race? That is, community colleges attract a lower economic demographic and a higher minority population than do 4-year institutions. Has the drop off in enrollment been consistent across all family incomes and racial groups?

I am surprised that the numbers are that good. I predicted that oberlin with their wonky 3 sessions to cut the number of students on campus by 1/3 vs the 2 normal sessions would see decreased enrollments in the 10-30% region getting much worse by the summer sessions. To me the best way to get the numbers would be on-site and to do a dining hall count at dinner for a few days. I bet these schools are hiding the real numbers lest it discourage others from attending or even worse put those students in a position to bargain for lower tuition. Colleges being subjected to a capitalistic market would be irony on the highest level.

They don’t want to get school-mandated vaccines.

    henrybowman in reply to alohahola. | June 14, 2021 at 2:37 pm

    I suspect the woke generation would collect vaccines on a charm bracelet if the prescription mills would let them.

A Punk Named Yunk | June 14, 2021 at 5:13 pm

Headline: Undergrad enrollment takes huge hit, down 727,000 students

No, that’s not a big enough hit. In general, men need to keep away from colleges completely that exude the slightest whiff of woke. (I think Wesley is a liberal arts college but not woke.) The hit needs to be 50% or more to universities reap what they have sown.