More students are entering college. Affordability and workforce training are factors
“Confidence in colleges is returning, but there are conditions,” said Courtney Brown, who studies college opinion for the Lumina Foundation, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that improves higher education.
“The public consistently tells us that cost, flexibility and career relevance determine their perception of the value of college,” Brown said. “So people aren’t giving up on education — they’re just more specific about what kind of education they want.”
Jeff Stroll, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, said that may reflect economic uncertainty and news of a hiring slowdown. He said when job prospects are uncertain and the economy is in trouble, people return to college, especially community colleges.
“If we think about what’s been going on in the U.S. economy recently, especially the growing economic uncertainty, it follows that pattern,” he said. “It’s easier to test the waters at a local community college than to take the steps of a four-year program, especially if the student doesn’t really know what they want to do.”
International students at postgraduate level plummet
While the number of international students enrolled in undergraduate courses increased by 3.2% this academic year, this figure was eclipsed by a significant decline in international student numbers in postgraduate courses (around 10,000 students).
The decline at postgraduate level (mainly in master’s programmes) follows several years of strong growth, in which the number of international postgraduate students increased by around 50%. The downturn reflects federal policies that have restricted or disrupted the student visa process, as well as billions of dollars in canceled federal funding going to research universities, disrupting the application pipeline.
Another key finding in the latest enrollment data is the significant decline in students studying computer and information sciences. After years of steady expansion, both graduate and undergraduate programs are experiencing declines.
The Clearinghouse’s Holsapple explained that in addition to being a result of the decline in international students, the rise of artificial intelligence is also affecting the transition away from computer science majors.
“Students are seeing the same trends that all of us are seeing,” he said. “They’re seeing the same news reports of layoffs in tech. They’re seeing the rise of artificial intelligence as we are.”
But he is encouraged by the trends. “Students are making different choices, and I think that’s a real positive for the field, especially for students, because they have those choices.”
