US college enrollment another victim of COVID?

[BeatMan]

Higher education has long been seen as the way to get a good job. Many job descriptions explicitly list a college degree as a prerequisite. Despite this, student enrollment in undergraduate programs has been gradually falling for the past decade, with the coronavirus pandemic giving it an extra push downward.

Since fall 2019, overall undergraduate enrollment at US colleges fell by 6.6% to just a little over 14.4 million full- and part-time students, according to the nonprofit National Student Clearing House Research Center. That equates to more than 1 million fewer students than two years ago.

Public colleges and universities offering four-year bachelor's programs and private for-profit schools have all experienced a decline in student numbers. Community colleges, which mainly offer two-year associate programs and often serve low-income students, students of color and older students, have been hit the hardest, with a 13% drop in enrollment.

But if schooling is so important, why are fewer students signing up? And what does this mean for their future and the economy?

US college enrollment another victim of COVID? | Business | Economy and finance news from a German perspective | DW | 18.02.2022

 

[tvstrip]

While it might only be a contributing factor, international enrollment has also gone down in the US/Canada due to COVID. This was often a way to gain permanent residence, and foreigners pay a heck of a lot more in tuition, so it was a lucrative market. But many students couldn't even get into the country, and distance studies was often impractical due to the time difference.

It might bounce back once COVID subsides and restrictions are lifted, but that's assuming that the pandemic hasn't left the families unable to afford to send these students abroad.