HCM + Edge Research Release New, Substantive Research on College Enrollment Declines
Enrollment is declining in higher education, and while it’s easy to blame it on the pandemic, data show it has been going on for longer than that. At the same time, we know that a postsecondary education is one of the best drivers of economic and social mobility. So where are the students, and what can we do to change their minds?
On September 28, 2022, we released in partnership with Edge Research, and with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, key findings from our recent study, “Exploring the Exodus from Higher Education.” The study, conducted from January–April 2022, included 11 focus groups and a robust online survey (n=1,675) of high school graduates, 18-30 years of age, who decided not to go to college or dropped out of a 2-year or 4-year college program. The survey fielded March–April 2022.
The purpose of this research is to understand why growing numbers of people are choosing not to go to college and what might help these learners decide to give college a chance.
News Coverage
Why Aren’t People Going to College
by Rick Seltzer | Higher Ed Dive
Some High-School Grads Say No to College. Here’s Why — and What Might Change Their Minds
by Audrey Williams June | Chronicle of Higher Education
Why Would-be Students Aren’t Choosing College
by Sara Weissman | Inside Higher Ed
by Allan Golston, President, US Program – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Where Are the Students: New Research into College Enrollment Declines
Gates Foundation – US Program, Postsecondary Success
