Archive Report
Archive Report
Current College Enrollment Crisis
Cost-Squeeze Consequence of Enrollment Slump
The great rush to get into college appears to be over. Enrollment, which quadrupled during the past 20 years, is leveling off and could decline by the 1980s. With the fall term now beginning, there still are about a half-million vacancies in the nation's 2,686 colleges and universities, according to the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC). This was unheard of in the halcyon days of the 1960s when schools were flooded with more applicants than they could admit.
To fill these empty seats, many colleges are resorting to promotional and recruiting techniques they once would have dismissed as demeaning. In some cases, enrolled students are being given tuition rebates for recruiting others. Some colleges are paying ...