NUMBERS DROPPING: Enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities has declined over the last five years, and 2017 is proving to be the most disappointing year so far, with just over 18 million students enrolled in higher education nationally last semester. That's down 2.4 million compared with the fall of 2011, according to a study by the National Student Clearinghouse.
The Hechinger Report writes that increasing tuitions costs are one contributor to the drop off, reporting that 68 percent of chief business officers at institutions said "price sensitivity was eating away at enrollment," while 57 percent "blamed competition from the likes of software coding boot camps."
In response, the article notes college admissions at small, private nonprofit institutions this year used 51 cents per dollar of tuition revenue on financial aid—up 13 cents over the last decade.
