College student population declines big time at California State University system
OAKLAND, Calif. - California State University campuses, especially in the Bay Area, are enrolling far fewer students these days; a trend that began in 2019, just as the pandemic was beginning and made worse as it continued.
By the end of this decade, many economists predict that the U.S. will be at least, eight million college graduates short of the number needed to create and manage new technologies.
For many generations, Americans believed that a college degree was the promise of a better life on many levels. It was a cultural thing.
Former Golden Gate University Business School Dean and author of a book critical of higher education says this. "In 2010, the broad American population, regardless of their politics, really expected one of their children to go and complete college. OK. Right now, that number is less than half," said Dean Connelly.
The non-profit Campaign for College Opportunity found that CSU's statewide enrollment at its 23 campuses declined by 6.5%. That's almost 28,000 fewer students.
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Locally, Sonoma State's enrollment is down more than a third. CSU East Bay, down 25%, San Francisco State, down 20%.
On top of that, the face of the student body is changing. White student enrollment declined by 13.1%. Black student count was down 5.4%. Asian students were down 4.1%, while the Latino student count was up 4.1%.
All of this made far worse by the "I' word. "We've had inflation, including the continued and even excess inflation in the cost of going to college, even at state schools," said Connelly.
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He also says, crushing debt crushes amassing other wealth, "Right now, you can't even get in the door to buying a house if you've got the kind of student loan burdens that people are carrying."
Connelly says, the few able to go to elite schools such as Stanford or Harvard will do just fine. But. in the real world, many cost-conscious students have opted to enroll in community colleges, often with the promise a traditional university will take them to complete their degrees. "To get the same courses at a CSU or at a UC, and they're gonna transfer you in anyway," said Connelly,
That said, half of those ages 18 to 29, told pollsters that a high school diploma and two years of community college is enough to get them through life. Many others think trade schools, from carpenters to jet engine mechanics, will get them the high-paying skilled jobs they seek.
In that scenario, colleges lose. "It's just people not starting, it's folks not staying and cutting back their course commitments that's causing this kind of data to show up," said Connelly.
Finally, consider that only 60% of the students that enroll in college, at any level, ever complete the process.