There has been a decline in the enrollment of students across the United States. One of the areas hit hardest this fall semester was the Midwest, with enrollment rates of new freshman dropping 16%. This statistic is supported by The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center showing these declines in enrollment rates between 2019 and 2020. This could introduce the idea that the decrease of enrollment was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, also affecting whether students choose to attend large public universities or smaller private schools.
Nationwide, the decline among students in all years of their undergraduate education reached a 4% decrease. The Midwest alone dropped by 5.7%, which was also one of the largest declines nationwide. Doug Shapiro, the director of The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, saw student enrollment rates greatly impacted by the decrease in incoming freshmen. He stated in an interview with Wisconsin Radio, “While the total number of undergraduate students has declined 4% from the same time last year, there is a huge disparity between first-time students, which are down by 16.5%, and returning students who are down only 1.5%.” This could suggest that would-be freshmen are deferring or choosing not to continue their education because of the pandemic.
It is believed the COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role in college enrollment. Even with the strict guidelines many universities have put in place, some students still are choosing not to attend.
Shapiro is very concerned about the decrease in student attendance. He explains, “I think many of these students are at risk of suffering permanent gaps in the acquisition of learning and skills that could take years to recover, even if they do manage to get back into school next fall.”
If students are choosing to not attend because of the pandemic, it could affect their proficiency if they choose to attend in upcoming years.
The decline varies depending on the type of university students are choosing to attend. While many public universities saw a decline in freshman enrollment, some private schools recorded different numbers. Carthage College Associate Vice President for Enrollment Ashley Hansen actually saw an increase of student enrollment.
Wisconsin Public Radio conducted an interview with Hansen where she reported that “we are one of the few Wisconsin schools that have hit or exceeded their goals. We would have loved to see what would have happened without COVID-19 happening because we could have actually brought in the largest freshman class in the history of the college.”
Carthage College saw a 6.5% increase in 2020 enrollment compared to 2019. It seems that some private schools are getting more students in 2020 than they have before.
After gathering information from both Shapiro and Hansen, it is clear that the enrollment rates differ by what type of university students are choosing to attend. Perhaps due to the COVID-19 pandemic the rate of enrollment increased at the private universities because of the smaller campus populations. To find a conclusion for decrease in enrollment throughout schools nationwide campuses will have to wait and see what the pandemic and enrollment look like in 2021.