College Enrollment Numbers Continue to Rise January 27, 2010
Ian Wellham on the steady rise of college enrollment
If your family is busy taking college tours you’ll notice that each college has its own individual personality and atmosphere. But one thing they all share is crowded campuses! College enrollment numbers continue to rise, which begs two questions: what’s responsible for this rise and how high will it go before it
levels off?
Looking at enrollments from 1967-2008 the percentage of 18-24 year olds attending college has risen from 25.5% to 39.6%. What has changed in American society to affect this increase? One reason has to do with the “deindustrialization” of American society since the 1970’s. That means fewer people are able to support themselves by following in their father’s footsteps as factory workers and need to pursue a career that involves a college degree.
Another factor is the number of women obtaining college degrees. In 1967 the percentage of men who attended college was 44.7%. Forty years later it remains 44.1%. The story with women is dramatically different. In 1967, the percentage of women who attended college was 25.1%. In 2008 that number was for a whopping 49.2% — almost twice as much! Women have caught up and are now surpassing men in the college enrollment game.
Can these trends continue? Have we reached the leveling off point? Right now a little more than 4 out of 10 Americans attend college. It’s unrealistic to believe we will ever be at 100%. But if current trends continue and future jobs require a more educated workforce, we could reach the 50% – 60% point before we level off.
