Higher Education and Recession Induced Changes
The Economy is Changing where Students Apply and Enroll
Jan 16, 2009
The nation’s economic woes may be affecting educational choices as parents and students search for the best value schools. This will place an even greater burden on admissions officers in determining how many applicants to accept, projecting enrollments, and developing longer waiting lists. At the same time, alternatives to four year institutions, like the community college systems, are seeing a significant rise in enrollments.
Community Colleges a Good Bet for Many Students
In North Carolina, where recently elected Governor Bev Perdue made community college availability for all state residents a campaign priority, enrollment rates for the spring 2009 semester are higher than the same period last year. Forsyth Tech Community College in Winston-Salem, one of the states fastest growing systems, saw an 11.5% increase. Other states have seen similar increases.
According to a January 8, 2009 Associated Press report focusing on Nevada community colleges, Truckee Meadows Community College has seen a 6% increase in enrollments compared to spring 2008 and other colleges in the system were seeing increases as well. The report attributes Nevada’s rise to workers seeking to update job skills and thus avoid potential unemployment. In North Carolina, increases are tied to unemployment where unskilled workers have lost thousands of jobs to overseas outsourcing.
Some observers see a possible trend toward community college partnerships with senior institutions, beyond the already popular and growing “early college” concept. Susan Kinzie, writing in the January 14, 2009 Washington Post, reports that the University of the District of Columbia is restructuring in order to create a community college division and may merge with Southeastern University, a private institution.
Community colleges offer courses at a fraction of the costs associated with public and private senior institutions and students can earn the same core credits that can later be transferred. Additionally, Community colleges provide training leading to specific certifications in the growing health care industry as well as other potentially “recession proof” career options.
Public and Private Senior Institutions
Becky Supiano and Eric Hoover, in the January 16, 2009 Chronicle of High Education, observe that, “Admissions officials anticipate a spring of uncertainty.” According to their research, more students may be applying to particular colleges in order to “shop for the best financial-aid packages.” At the same time, in-state applications for top tier public universities are on the rise. Supiano and Hoover point to Ohio State University as an exception, where application numbers are equal to 2008, however, the submissions represent an academically stronger group of applicants.
One conclusion that can be drawn from this might be that academically strong applicants that tended to apply to more expensive private institutions are opting for more affordable public alternatives. At the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, in-state applications have risen but out-of-state applications have fallen, prompting a marketing effort to recruit more out-of-state students. This is also true at Ohio State.
Application fees, often steep ($65 at Duke, Harvard, Georgetown, for example), comprise a large part of college operating budgets. Fewer applications means less revenue. Coupled with endowment losses and the recent Madoff Ponzi scam, several institutions have lost millions. Paul Fain, writing in the January 9, 2009 Chronicle of High Education, lists Yeshiva University, New York University, and Tufts as having the highest Madoff-related losses. In short, a number of financial downturns for many universities may prompt belt tightening as students become more selective where they apply to as they expect greater considerations for financial-aid.
The Changing Face of Higher Education
The economic impacts on American education may force significant changes that include population shifts in overall student demographics, fewer foreign students, and a stronger reliance on less expensive adjunct instructors and internet courses. At the same time, students and parents, faced with family budget shortfalls, may consider options not thought of in past years, such as community college or even deferring enrollment by a year or more. The end result will be a modified, reformed, and leaner system.
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