Welcome to Labor Day Weekend in the U.S. as another academic year is underway on most college campuses.
“So this is what college is supposed to feel like,” a college president told me last month at a dinner I hosted in Indianapolis, quoting a junior on her campus.
In recent weeks, I’ve hosted three dinners for college and university leaders in Indianapolis, Pennsylvania, and Chicago. These dinner conversations follow the Chatham House Rule, so while I can share what I heard, I can’t always share who said it. In listening to these college presidents, provosts, and vice presidents, a few common themes emerged as we enter what might be the first normal fall on campuses since 2019.
First, is that after an historic enrollment drop in higher ed—nearly 1.3 million students since the spring of 2020—several said they are welcoming their largest freshman class in years. Teenagers "want the traditional college experience and we weren’t necessarily giving that to them the last two falls," said one president. "So, they sat on the sidelines."
That said, it doesn’t mean these college leaders aren't worried about enrollment. Most of the colleges and universities—both public and private—that gathered at these dinners are less selective when it comes to admissions.
Enrollment is the lifeblood of their campuses, and some had to pull every lever, and then some, to fill seats this fall. Most gave out larger tuition discounts. Many tried new tactics to “yield” students who had choices. A few experimented with direct admissions, where would-be students are told they’re in without ever applying. One vice president for enrollment said he used robocalls this year to reach accepted students who usually ignore email and even text messages.
Second, the “Great Resignation” is on everyone’s mind as they all seem to be struggling to attract talent and fill jobs. Many had stories of their IT staff leaving for tech companies because they could now work from anywhere.
Even student workers are difficult to find. Jonathan D. Green, president of Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, told me after one of the dinners that chains near campus, such as McDonald’s and Target, are offering $15-$20 an hour in pay. “Even the top of our range on campus doesn’t compete with what is available at certain local employers,” he said.
Susquehanna, like many colleges, are trying to make campus employment more meaningful to students, so that they see a job as more than a paycheck but also skill building for their career after graduation.
Still, if students are using a job to pay for school, “they will logically choose the higher pay,” Green told me. “It becomes a Hobson's choice. Unfortunately, those are the same students who are likely to benefit the most from the on-campus experiences.” And boosting wages on campus is nearly impossible for most institutions who are struggling to balance their budgets already.
Third, the state of the post-pandemic economy isn’t just impacting student employment but also student housing. Before Covid, students couldn’t wait to live off campus. Now, in many parts of the country, housing is so tight and expensive that students are clamoring to get back on campus. And it’s everywhere, even at non-residential campuses. California Community Colleges just received $375 million from the state for the next two years to build dorms. Florida Atlantic University has 800 students on its waiting list for campus housing as rents have roughly doubled there in the past 15 months.
Finally, beyond enrollment, two other long-term trends college leaders are talking about:
- Declining public confidence in higher ed. “Higher education has the dubious distinction of having lost the confidence of the American public faster than any other institution measured by the Gallup polling organization,” Hechinger’s Olivia Sanchez wrote in her newsletter this week. A few leaders at these dinners brought up something that Olivia mentioned in her newsletter for this decline in confidence: the mismatch between the culture of campuses—which tends to be more liberal—and the many communities where students are coming from. “They don’t feel welcome and belonging is a big factor to students staying,” said one vice-president for enrollment management.
- What was lost during the pandemic. Whether it was the loss of academics or social engagement during the pandemic, many college officials seem just as worried—or even more worried—about retaining students as they are about enrolling them in the first place. “Students are having trouble engaging in groups or asking faculty members for help,” one president reported.
☕️☕️ Good morning. Thanks for reading Next. If someone forwarded this to you, get your own copy by signing up for free here. |
|
