More students are going to college. Affordability and workforce training are factors : NPR

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Overall college enrollment across the U.S. is up compared with numbers last year. That is because more Americans are going to community college and four-year public universities, even as polling shows people are losing confidence in higher education. Here’s NPR correspondent Elissa Nadworny to explain what’s happening.

ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: The latest fall enrollment data shows a slight increase overall – up by about 200,000 students, according to the research center at the National Student Clearinghouse.

JEFF STROHL: These findings might catch people a little bit by surprise.

NADWORNY: Jeff Strohl is the director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

STROHL: But if we think about what’s going on in the U.S. economy as of late, especially growing economic uncertainty, a lot of news about hiring slowdowns, the whole freezing of the labor market, it makes a lot of sense that people are returning back to college.

NADWORNY: While overall more people are choosing college, there are important shifts happening in where students are going and where they’re not. Enrollment at private four-year colleges is down. Fewer people are enrolled in master’s degree programs. But enrollment is up at four-year public universities and at community colleges. There, it’s driven by students choosing short-term credentials tied to the workforce. Courtney Brown is with the Lumina Foundation, which focuses on improving higher education. She’s been studying public opinion on college.

COURTNEY BROWN: The public’s been telling us that cost, flexibility and career relevance shape their view of college’s worth. So people aren’t turning away from education. They’re just getting more precise about what kind of education they want.

NADWORNY: There were also big declines in international students enrolled in graduate programs – down by about 10,000 students. This may reflect billions in canceled federal dollars flowing to research universities disrupting the pipeline, plus federal policies that limited the student visa process. Another finding – a huge drop in students enrolled in computer science programs. Here’s how Matthew Holsapple, the senior director of research at the clearinghouse, explains it.

MATTHEW HOLSAPPLE: Students are – they’re seeing the same trends that we all are seeing. They see the same news reports of layoffs in the tech field. They see the rise of AI like we do.

NADWORNY: Still, the biggest takeaway is that overall enrollment has continued to surpass prepandemic levels. Students are simply making different choices about where to go.

Elissa Nadworny, NPR News.

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