Community College Fall Enrollment Drops - Coronavirus Updates - NPR PDF

10/24/2020 Community College Fall Enrollment Drops : Coronavirus Updates : NPR
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THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Fewer Students Are Going To Community

College, Despite High Unemployment
September 24, 2020 · 12:03 AM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
ELISSA NADWORNY
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Students at Grand Rapids Community College pass out T-shirts to promote virtual student life offerings during the fall
semester.
Elissa Nadworny/NPR
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/24/916247728/fewer-students-are-going-to-community-college-despite-high-unemploy… 1/14
Enrollment at U.S. community colleges has dropped nearly 8% this fall, newly released
figures show, part of an overall decline in undergraduate enrollment as students face a
global pandemic and the worst economic recession in decades.
Often, enrollment in higher education spikes in times of high unemployment and

recession as students seek additional job skills and postpone entering the workforce.
But the pandemic has overturned those traditional calculations, according to
preliminary data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which
tracks college enrollment.
Hardest hit were community colleges, which traditionally serve lower-income students
and those seeking additional career skills. The enrollment drop comes as many of
those schools face a host of new financial pressures.
"Those are institutions that were already operating in many cases on very thin margins
even before the pandemic," says Doug Shapiro, who leads the research center at the
Clearinghouse. He says the community college numbers are "most worrisome"
because of the students they tend to serve.
"It's a matter of critical concern if even these kinds of traditional on-ramps to higher
education for low income students are becoming inaccessible," Shapiro adds.
Article continues after sponsor message
Throughout the summer, community college presidents told me they didn't know what
to expect when it came to fall enrollment, though several were optimistic. In past
recessions, community colleges in particular saw a boost, from students either priced
out of other institutions or seeking job training to pivot to another career.
"As time drags on and we're still seeing millions of unemployed," Shapiro says, "I just
don't think that we're going to ever get to the point where many of them [potential
students] are in a position, or confident enough about the future, to say this is a good
time to go back to school."
Many community colleges are holding courses primarily online this fall, which may
also be a big part of why enrollment has dropped, he explains. "Many of the students
don't have good Internet access to begin with, much less a good place in which to study
and not be interrupted at home."
In addition to community colleges, other types of institutions are also enrolling fewer
students. Attendance in private, nonprofit four-year schools is down 3.8% from last
year. Overall, public, four-year colleges are doing much better, with an enrollment
drop of just 0.4%, but that flat line also depends on where a university is located: At
rural, four-year publics, enrollment fell 4%.
There is some good news: Overall, enrollment in graduate programs is up about 4%

from last year — most of that increase can be attributed to short-term programs like
post-baccalaureates and certificates, a sign that perhaps recent college graduates
wanted to stave off the job market just a bit longer.
The preliminary data from the Clearinghouse represents about 3.6 million students at
629 colleges — that's nearly 22% of all the schools that typically report. The
organization will release numbers again in October as more colleges provide their fall
data.
You keep vital information flowing.

10/24/2020
ou eep v ta o at o ow g
Community College Fall Enrollment Drops : Coronavirus Updates : NPR
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THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Fewer Students Are Going To Community

3-Minute Listen PLAYLIST Download

Often, enrollment in higher education spikes in times of high unemployment and

Article continues after sponsor message

There is some good news: Overall, enrollment in graduate programs is up about 4%

You keep vital information flowing.

More Stories From NPR

NPR Editors' Picks

READ & LISTEN CONNECT

Arts & Life Twitter

ABOUT NPR GET INVOLVED

Overview Support Public Radio

Finances Sponsor NPR

People NPR Careers

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Corrections Visit NPR

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