The 2024-25 enrollment on campuses increased by 3% but the first-year enrollment declined by 5%, with the drop in 18 year olds a contributing factor. The challenges with FAFSA implementation may have contributed to these declines.
Two major keys to robust enrollment are retention (which everyone knows) and the other is capturing those who have stopped out. College completion rates increased slightly in the 2024 analysis, with students from higher economic backgrounds leading those of lesser means. Students who transfer or stop out have special issues that institutions must address. Looking back at stop out figures from 2020 forward, the available number of adults who attended college but did not receive a degree is 36.8 million. The stop-out possibilities include lots of transfers, which is becoming easier in places like Colorado. Transfer among institutions is increasing in importance and some are attempting to remove the enrollment, optimal choice, human, and lost opportunity costs of reenrolling.
It has been obvious for a number of years that prospective students of diverse backgrounds were a focus for recruiters. The assumption of conservatives was that this was about politics and affirmative action. The broader issue is that the general U.S. population is becoming much more transracial. As this shift occurs, any business or organization that wants to thrive has to figure out how to appeal to students of all cultural backgrounds. The good news is that Common Application numbers increased in 2023-24, with increased diversity. The increase in Common Application submissions also seems to be increasing direct admission to some institutions. To secure strong future enrollment, institutions not only have to appeal, but also to engage students of all cultural backgrounds so that they stay and eventually graduate.
Review of the Supreme Court's rejection of affirmative over the last year reveals a mostly negative impact on institutional diversity, with Inside Higher Education data reflecting considerable variation. Black men enrolled at HBCUs had been declining for decades but interest and enrollment at HBCUs surged for 2024. Minority enrollment dropped at numerous selective colleges such as Amherst, Tufts, Brown, Harvard, Vanderbilt and others. Brown has since launched a new diversity recruitment strategy. UCLA bucked the trend by adding Black and Latino students. One strategy to protect diversity in enrollment is for more institutions to remain test optional. Ending legacy admission may be one of the primary ways to restore trust in higher education as well as accelerate the presumed economic advancement of obtaining a college degree. California now prohibits legacy admission for public and private institutions. The diversity mix across institutions reveals significant variation including increases for campuses that prioritized increasing economic diversity. Study of data from the last century of the 65 most selective institutions found that, while higher education broadly attempted to increase access, elite institutions remained constant with 5% of their students coming from lower-resourced backgrounds.
Students for Fair Admission, which is the group that brought the affirmative action suit to the Supreme Court, moved to sue some of the same elite institutions for violating the court ruling; Ed Blum, the president of the group, challenged the diversity outcomes for the 2024 year and the lack of published economic diversity and legacy admissions policies that could account for the relative stability of diversity enrollment proportions. A research study using AI to review one college's admission offers revealed that ignoring race of applicants reduced the proportion of minoritized students but did not impact quality.
International student enrollment has buoyed U.S. institution's enrollment and maintaining these numbers is essential. The 2023-24 Open Doors report indicated a 6.6% increase in international students. However, the Global Enrolment Benchmark reported that international student enrollment declined by 6% in the U.S. in 2024, which is better than Canada, the U.K., and others. However, the American Council on Education leaders hoped that the U.S. election would bring positive reforms such as improving visa processing for international students. The American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers (AACRAO) advocated an open credential depository to support enhanced international student mobility. While applications shift from China to India, many institutions will have to recenter their recruitment and campus services by national origin and as graduate applications grow as a proportion of enrollment. As a result of Trump returning to the White House, policy proposals from GOP legislators designed to address anti-Semitism could make it tougher for U.S. institutions to remain attractive to international students. The U.S. still dominates in perceived quality around the world but visa restrictions, threats to undocumented learners, and reluctance to challenge Trump initiatives could result in further decline of international students. An ominous move, some institutions advised international students to make sure they are in the U.S. before Trump's January 20, 2025, inauguration.
Cost remains an important factor in many prospective students' decisions with parents' priority on cost even higher. Approximately 9 out of 10 families are willing to sacrifice in order to fund higher education with almost half going into debt in order to make make it happen. A recent study indicated that the bottom line cost isn't the only issue. Timing, amount, and transparency of financial aid in comparison to the full cost of attendance are all factors. Financial pressures have increased the number of students who work part-time during their enrollment. Latinx students face both financial stresses and political dynamics when they consider pursuing a higher education.
The simultaneous move of several colleges in offering the "clear cost" of attendance appears to be a way of addressing cost aversion at the same time it challenges the declining confidence in higher education. The fact that these transparency initiatives rolled out at the same time implies collusion but the stated reason in general is making "degrees more affordable and conveying that affordability is clear and simple terms to prospective students from the bottom of the economic stratum."
The issue of cost versus benefit is also in the mix of institutional choice; benefit is often seen as being greater at highly ranked institutions but students increasingly look beyond the ratings to determine which institution is best for them. The flaws in the ranking systems, and their undue influence on student decisions, resulted in calls for abandoning or significantly modifying them. Despite some characterizations of U.S. higher education being in an identity crisis, the issues of credibility and benefit are more complicated. In fact, higher education ranks number 4 in credibility behind small businesses, military, and police with significant differences based on political orientation. The political orientation is reflected in the increasing enrollment for Christian, and specifically Catholic, colleges.
There are some surprises related to enrollment success, sometimes attributable only to the rebound from the depths of the pandemic. However, clear and competitive pricing among a number of regional universities may have contributed to growing enrollment and in some states government allocations prevented even higher tuition increases. Asserting modest cost, access, a local or regional focus, and convenience, may help other institutions regain their footing. A very interesting twist is that some students now rule out certain institutions because of the political environment or specific policies of the state in which the institution is located.
With under-sourced students more heavily influenced by cost, the higher incompletion rates for FAFSA forms among Latina/o and Black students was a dangerous predictor. Issues with FAFSA and uncertainty about financial aid may result in enrollment declines for many colleges with small colleges most heavily impacted. Indigenous student enrollment has been dropping in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning affirmation action as well.
Early admission options in place at many selective institutions have locked in enrollment among more privileged students. However, as Duke's Dean of Admissions indicates, the smaller pools among those who commit to early decision allows institutions to select for diversity such as special talent, racial, geographic, or to provide opportunity for underserved students.
By August 2024 declining enrollment resulted in budget cuts at University of New Orleans, Western Illinois, Rider, Valparaiso, Queens of Charlotte, Bethel, and by October 2024 a number of private and public institutions were added to the list. The Virginia Assembly is watching seven institutions where enrollment has declined. While some reports indicated that cuts were slowing by August, campuses with extreme decline in enrollment, like Saint Augustine, will have dire consequences.
Research determined that approximately one third of currently enrolled students have considered dropping out within the last six months. Multiple studies attribute the primary causes to be stress, mental health concerns, and cost of attendance but the impact of declining confidence in the value of U.S. higher education could be a contributing factor. Graduates for 2025 are pessimistic about the employment prospects. A U.S. News survey found that 70% of current students reported some form of mental health challenge, yet most have not sought help on campus. Meeting student mental health needs comes in a variety of forms including traditional in-person counseling, tele-health, and early warning initiated by peers. One of the biggest questions is if the rise in reports of mental health concerns is the result of learned helplessness, which may best be resolved by helping students learn to seek help and become more resilient. Conventional wisdom indicating that exercise is a way to manage stress should not be ignored.
The first experiences at college have a big impact on students and greater flexibility in offering orientation has emerged post-pandemic. Dual enrollment by high school students taking courses in higher education is one attempt to lure new students through early exposure. Institutions that focus on creating a sense of belonging for all will both attract and retain at higher levels than institutions that ignore the importance of human and interpersonal connection. Providing clear pathways for students to complete their degrees also attracts and retains them through to completion. Institutions are best served by making sure students know about the financial, logistical, and emotional resources available to help them persist to graduation. The COVID pandemic forced U.S. higher education into different ways of thinking that offer lessons to help navigate current challenges.
Business officers expressed concern about the future when they gathered in the summer of 2024. With enrollment so central to generating enough revenue to balance budgets, repercussions of campus demonstrations and the uncertainty of the U.S. presidential election weighed heavily in conversations about the coming year. Several issues related to concern for employment when they graduate are on the tope of many students's minds. Flagship state institutions that cannibalize regional universities, picking off students who would otherwise not be able to qualify, undermine what should be a state-coordinated enrollment effort serving all students and institutions. The commitment to automatically offer admission to the top 6% of in-state students to the University of Texas turned the institution into a highly selective and coveted institution. Some of the institutions that cannibalized others may suffer criticism as a result of not being able to accommodate all students in residence halls.
There are opportunities to adjust to enrollment decline of traditionally aged students. Some students are now choosing microcredentials as an alternative to full degrees, a strategy yet to be tested in relation to lasting benefit. The fact that increasing life longevity provides multiple, rather than just one, opportunity to pursue advanced education is one promising option. Rethinking campus space and downsizing outdated buildings is another opportunity that institutions such as the University of Toledo and Indiana University of Pennsylvania are pursuing. The key elements that require attention as enrollments shift include; brand management, aligning academic programs with demand and workforce changes, pricing, and retention/completion.
The fragility of U.S. higher education is partially due to its number of small private colleges. These institutions are particularly vulnerable as enrollments shift and decline, resulting in a 2% loss in the number of institutions last year. One president admonished colleagues to start preparations for potential mergers of campuses before conditions become so urgent that they end up fraught with anxiety, betrayal, and broken dreams. Home to more college campuses than any other state except California, Pennsylvania is reviewing how to reorganize and refocus higher education in the face of declining enrollments.
