A National Student Clearing House report shows Louisiana was one of only 15 states to see college enrollment increases when comparing this fall semester to last year’s.
National enrollment numbers fell 1.3%, and Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed says that’s in part because of a large demographic shift.
“You see different parts having significant declines in high school enrollment, just population shifts, and Louisiana has not seen that,” says Reed.
The report notes total post-secondary enrollment hasgone down by two million students over the last 10 years.
While demographics play a part in the trend, Reed notes that the problem has been compounded by an economy that’s providing less short term incentive for people to pursue higher education.
“Enrollment in our community colleges tends to be countercyclical, so when the economy is strong you see more people going out to work, and when the economy is not we have many more students coming into our community college system,” Reed said.
Louisiana saw a .6% increase in enrollment, but Reed says the state will need to see a much larger increase to meet it’s end of decade goals.
“The Board of Regents has set a strategic planned goal of having 60% of our population with a credential by 2030, and we are currently at 44%,” says Reed.
Utah, New Hampshire, and Arizona led the nation in enrollment increases, while Alaska, Florida, and Arkansas saw the largest decreases.