(from The Hechinger Report) New majors in high-demand fields. More aggressive scouting strategies. Increased financial aid funding. Accelerated graduation programs. These are among myriad changes at small, private nonprofit colleges (in these cases, Ohio Wesleyan) that hope to counter a painful demographic dip impacting their enrollment ranks. The U.S. had 81,000 fewer high school graduates nationwide this year than last, according to the National Student Clearinghouse
The trend has been underway for some time; in the just-ended college semester, just over 18 million students were enrolled — 2.4 million fewer than in the fall of 2011. No upswing is likely until 2023, and it is expected to represent a slow recovery comprised largely of low-income racial and ethnic minorities who may have more need to financial aid. “I have not met a president who isn’t saying this is really tough,” said David Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
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