For quite some time, higher education in the forms of college and university has been a tradition in the United States. Young people are consistently told that going to college or university will better their chances of success in life.
However, as higher education is promoted to young people, the major pitfalls of student loan debt are often not as deeply addressed as they should be.
Furthermore, over the past several years, there have been patterns of young people getting fancy degrees, but then not being able to find jobs once they’ve finished their higher education.
On top of this comes the rise of more people looking into alternatives to college and university, such as trade school, apprenticeship, starting a business, etc.
Now, Breitbart News confirms the rise of COVID has engendered the decline of higher education enrollments.
The Gradual Downfall of Higher Education
According to the National Student Clearinghouse, since fall 2019, there’s been a roughly 5.1% decline in young people enrolling in higher education. This percentage tallies out to about a one million fall in the youth signing up to attend college or university.
Research center leader Doug Shapiro explains this is the biggest fall seen in five decades; furthermore, it’s an indication that young people are thinking twice about attending college these days and looking into other options.
Siena College student Alex Feuz is speaking out against the school’s ‘frustrating’ COVID booster mandates: ‘It’s a political reason being pushed’ pic.twitter.com/SsLBWeUsYy
— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) January 11, 2022
Shapiro likewise explained that the longer people steer clear of college, the less likely they are to end up going.
This subtle, yet progressive downfall of education comes as many college attendees of today are saddled down with student loan debt. These debts are not going to simply disappear, contrary to what many young people would like to happen.
Reactions from Colleges and Universities
As it turns out, the amount of young people choosing to opt out of higher education is hurting the bottom lines of these facilities.
Therefore, some colleges and universities are beginning to implement changes designed to make higher education more appealing. Some of these changes include waiving fees to apply, being more lenient with deadlines, and offering scholarships to students who have to retake their classes.
Colleges lost 465,300 students this fall, after a similar loss last year.
Good.
For many people, if not most, college is an expensive, time-wasting scam: pic.twitter.com/1vUlY29irh
— John Stossel (@JohnStossel) January 14, 2022
Nevertheless, the writing is very clearly on the wall. Over the past several years, there’s been more of an emphasis on following not-so-traditional paths when it comes to education and employment.
This explains why more people are looking into freelance work and the gig economy. Many job opportunities that fall under this umbrella don’t require people to sit in classrooms or hold a degree.
As more young people explore their options, higher education facilities will likely continue to see fewer enrollments.
Let us know in the comments area below what you think about the massive decline in people enrolling in colleges and universities.
