As the US birth rate shrinks, so too does the number of colleges and universities in the country, which has crashed to its lowest count in many decades. Also a factor is the cost of higher education, which has skyrocketed beyond overall inflation in recent decades, souring some potential students.
As the US birth rate shrinks, so too does the number of colleges and universities in the country, which has crashed to its lowest count in many decades. Also a factor is the cost of higher education, which has skyrocketed beyond overall inflation in recent decades, souring some potential students.
byu/StarlightDown infivethirtyeight
Posted by StarlightDown
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Source: [“A new report from the Wall Street Journal outlined a surge in traditional colleges shutting down across America. From 2014 to 2023, some 529 private, non-profit four-year institutions have shut down — **3x** as many as in the previous decade — including renowned establishments”](https://sherwood.news/power/college-closures-in-the-us-have-risen-sharply-in-the-last-8-years/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=chartr_20240821)
Source: [“Higher education enrollments have been falling for years, a well-documented outcome that can be attributed to some combination of a strong U.S. economy, changes in birth rates and, perhaps, growing doubts about the value of a college degree. Another decline is also unfolding — this one attributable to a mix of economic and political forces: the number of colleges and universities in the United States is at its lowest ebb since at least 1998.”](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/14/higher-ed-shrinks-number-colleges-falls-lowest-point-two-decades)
When you think that the costs can skyrocket because the Gov. will lend more for higher education and the books cost increase for the same reason..You have priced out millions who would attend…Simple. GREED.
Birthrate wouldn’t necessarily be a causation here, and likely is just a parallel symptom of the real problem. People cannot afford the massive inflation associated with education in general so children and higher education are being deferred or opted out of where in the past they were looked at as attractive options.
My bet is there will be a massive inversion around education where, instead of people coming to the US seeking opportunities, people will be leaving the US for opportunities.
Especially with the most recent policies restricting speech on campuses and threatening the foreign students who drive the research machine, the attractiveness of the US as a leader in tech has diminished.
There has already been a minor exodus of some academics to Canada, China, and Europe in my field. As things continue to degrade it is only going to increase the numbers leaving. I am already starting to look outside the US and position my self for an exit, it is slowly becoming more dangerous to live here…
Universities got greedy with the giant millennial generation. They were kept afloat by older Gen Z but they will be in for a world of hurt for the fall in births after the 08 financial crisis.
Government programs need to be very careful what they subsidize and all education is not equal.
Colleges basically became checklists for extracting the most money possible out of 18 year olds via guaranteed government loans without real concern of the job markets, general environment, or even skill of their graduates.
Europe and some other countries in the world may provide free education- but the criteria for who receives it is long and based around national need. They aren’t paying 65k a year for kids who can barely read to work on their revolutionary activism training to deconstruct society or whatever is currently the cheapest thing to provide kids and at least give the general appearance of education while hitting all the right buzzwords.
Long list of college degrees that are basically hobbies that people can engage in using the internet or their local library.
70% of college and university hires over the last few decades have been for administrative and support staff; these institutions are filled with administrative bloat, much to the chagrin of the quality of those who are interested in intellectual pursuits.
At some point, this is all going to implode. Not just due to a gradually decreasing birth rate, but because the costs are too high for the perceived return.
I’m confused. My child is going to a state university (in state tuition) full time – PAC10 school. Annual tuition is $12,000. However I paid $20,000 per year for her daycare 18 years ago when she was a baby and I went back to work . I’m a single mom and can pay for her college education out of pocket. Maybe people just aren’t doing it right. Or am I missing something?
A big problem no one talks about is that states fund their colleges less than ever, so there aren’t as many scholarships available to offset tuition. Especially merit aid, which used to be a lifeline to the middle class.
Tuition has risen, aid has gone down and the federal government hasn’t increased what you can borrow from them in decades. You can only borrow 5-6k a year through federal loans, and that’s barely enough to cover community college where I live. Let alone the state universities that are more than double that cost.
Most people I know are shocked by this and end up taking out parent plus loans, or their kid just patches together courses at the community college while working.
Boomers told their kids to get a summer job if they wanted to pay for college like they did, Gen X and millennials counted on their kids getting merit aid like they did and loans- but it’s not enough to pay for college anymore.
Are we missing the big loud elephant in the room here ?
International students. All of the policies around immigration are crushing univisersities. And it has.
The entire system is going to explode. Universities should have increased seats a long time ago, they could’ve offered more night classes or summer schools, however, they wanted to be exclusive. They wanted to gouge international students and offer degrees in meaningless fields that one cannot have a career in outside of academia, in charge the same rate across the board, of course.
They are filled with bloat from administrators, and thus, they had to hire more adjunct professors than ever, eliminating tenure-track full timers. They went all in with sports even though few programs, turn a profit, and created resort incentives, even at state schools.
And my last gripe, which is obviously subjective and more personal, they absolutely went woke and are totally not down with free speech, just speech that they consider acceptable to the politburo.