We tend to see our world as a constant barrage of ups. Prices are up, population is up, global temperatures are up. So, it might seem that when something comes down, it's cause to celebrate.
Well, sorry to let you down, but a shocking downward trend is already happening and promises to get worse – national and statewide enrollment in college is down – way down.
It started during the great recession of 2007. Bad economic times meant people had fewer children. Well, that crashed happened 18 years ago, and all those kids that weren’t born during that event, aren’t going to college now.
Beginning this year, it hits everywhere (lower college enrollment). By the end of the decade there will be 650,000 less 18-year-olds per year.Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report
And the ripple affect of this demographic decline is profound.
On this edition of Oregon On The Record you’ll hear from Jon Marcus of The Hechinger Report (a national nonprofit newsroom writing about education), and Erin Hays, AVP and Director of Admissions at the University Of Oregon about declining college enrollment.
