Higher Education Enrollment : Higher Educational Enrollment Essay

The U.S. is home to some of the greatest colleges and universities in the world. But with an overwhelming 1.3 million students graduating with an average student loan debt of $29,000 each and with youth unemployment elevated, the question of whether or not college tuition is worth the money arises (The Institute for College Access & Success, 2013). Higher education faces intimidating challenges: continually rising costs, access and completion problems, constant changing of technology, and responsibility pressures from state and federal officials. But no challenge is more intimidating than the fundamental question that many Americans face to ask themselves, "Is college worth the cost?" As a result of the economic turn down, many students who graduate are not finding well-paying jobs, either within their field of study or not.

Research indicates a steep upward trend in the cost of higher education throughout the 20th century. In recent decades, America has witnessed a widening gap between inflation and tuition. An incoming freshman at a typical college incurs charges for tuition, university fees, books, room and board,

The towering prices of college tuition is an avid cause for the overwhelming ignorance in America. U.S. leaders once hoped that 60 percent of the U.S. population would have college degrees by 2025. Today in 2017, it is closer to 30 percent. Not only do tuition costs dig deep financial holes in a student’s life, the pressure of making the investment causes unnecessary, avoidable stress. Students around the world flourish without the financial commitment. Students in America- the land of the “free”- need the same financial freedoms and opportunities to thrive and contribute to mankind in the changing world of today.

From 1996 – 2012, college enrollment among Hispanics ages 18 – 24, has increase 240% and African American enrollment has increase 72% (Krogstad & Fry, 2014).

Background information: America’s first college was founded when the colonists arrived from Europe and founded New College”, which was later to be renamed to Harvard University in 1636. In the late 1800s and early 19th centuries, the number of schools increased from 25 colleges to 241 colleges in 1860. According to BLS, of the 3.1 million people ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October of 2016, only 2.2 million or 69.7 percent enrolled in college in Oct. 2016. After the Great Recession, about 11.6 million jobs

The United States, the country that was founded on ideologies that promised the “American Dream” has increasingly become a more diverse nation. Thousands of immigrants from all over the world still continue to flock to the United States in hope of a better future. These foreigners start a new life and have children who can reap all the benefits of being United States citizens. One of those benefits is partaking in one of the best education systems in the world. American higher education promises superb schooling allowing for social mobility, status, and ensures financial security. As a result, first-generation students are reshaping the demographics in higher education, accounting for one third of the undergraduate population.

Public education has historically attempted to educate more people and make higher education more accessible to all students. Thus local school districts, higher education institutions, states, and the U.S. federal government are increasingly dealing with funding issues. Faced with decreases in additional funding, our focus must be on channeling existing resources toward practices that increase the probability of student success. This includes best educational practices and viewing schools and higher education institutions that affect student performance as part of an inter-related system, not as separate institutions. Today, educators acknowledge that there is no straight line to earning college

Looking into Clinton’s plan and how it would evolve over the next five years, the themes of access and affordability shine through. She believes that all students should be able to obtain a public post-secondary education (Clinton on the Issues: College, 2016). The current truth is that “access and success in higher education continue to be stratified according to income…” (Eckel & King, 2004). With Clinton’s plan access would increase, and with that enrollment would increase. Increased enrollment at college campuses strikes as an initially positive thought; more students can gain and education and contribute that education to bettering society. However, increase enrollment could lead to increase selectivity, if enrollment increased in extreme enough amounts. State schools, that were founded to offer quality education would now have a larger pool of student to pick from. For the state school’s fortunate enough to the capacity to educate more student’s their success would continue to increase. But what about the state schools that are already struggling with enrollment issues? Will they continue to live out their mission and increase enrollment at the expense of the student’s education quality. For campuses that are already filled with students, larger incoming classes would lead to less enrollment options, larger classroom sizes, and the same campus resources spread thinner across a larger student body. Schools in this category would be forced to decide between decreasing

In the United States the population of racial/ethnic minorities is growing. 34% of the American Population is persons of color according to the United States Census Bureau. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). 32% of students enrolled in institutions of higher education were minority students in 2004 (NCES, 2007). The culture of a majority of campuses is changing because of the increased presence of minority students. Traditionally universities enrolled mainly

In order to operate and sustain despite the decline in federal funding, HBCUs must find strategic ways to bring in more dollars. For most of these institutions, raising tuition is not a viable option. HBCUs are positioned as low-cost institutions that provide access students with low-incomes, and tuition hikes could lead to declines in enrollment. Students, typically within HBCUs' enrollment pool due to low income status, would not be able to pay, and other students would have to borrow more money to attend. (Clay, 2013). Additionally, most HBCUs would not be able to expand their scholarship offerings to make up for the tuition increase, and scholarships are needed in order to compete for the best and brightest students (Clay, 2013). To fill

The overall percent of Americans going to college has increased sharply over the last forty years. In 2012 nearly forty percent of Americans between the ages of twenty-five and sixty-four held at least an associate’s degree. Polls show that in the next forty years the total number of Americans that hold at least an associate’s degree will double. However, if the amount of American minorities whom attend college increase it would cause the total percent of American’s who attend college and uphold a two year degree to almost triple.

With the slogan, “education for all”, the United States aspired many parents and students to attend colleges and universities in the 1950s. By 1970s, the number of college-goers increased sharply and

In this day and age, we have seen a large increase in the cost of college. Over the last 20 years the average cost of tuition has increased by 237 percent for in state years, according to U.S. News’s article “See 20 Years of Tuition Growth at National Universities” written by Briana Boyington. Tuition has jumped from 3,168 dollars in 1997 to 10,691 dollars in 2017. On the even more expense side of the spectrum private colleges have gone from 16,233 dollars for tuition to 41,727 dollars (Boyington, 3). This extreme jump in cost has made it much harder for people in lower socioeconomic classes to pay for higher education. Not getting a higher education makes it harder to get a

Thesis Statement: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “the 2012 graduation rate for…full-time undergraduate students who began their pursuit of a bachelor’s degree at a 4-year…institution…was 59 percent.” Also stated was that it took 6 years for those first-time college students to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Every year the number of graduating college students is drastically decreasing. We believe that there

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, college education has been available for everyone and anyone who is willing to develop their knowledge regarding a specific professional field. Currently in the United States, the percentage of high school graduates going to college has increased considerably: 68 percent in 2011 compared to 49 percent in 1940 (Menand, 2) and the record high set in 2009 with 70 percent of total high school graduates enrolled in college ("Bureau of Labor Statistics"). Notwithstanding, it has come to the attention of many that the college tuition and fees have been increasing at an accelerated rate. According to The New York Times, college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 (Lewin, 1). This