Americans are turning away from higher education

Freshman enrollment at four-year colleges has dropped by 8.5% at public universities and 6.5% at private universities in 2024 compared to 2023.

Overall freshman enrollment at all higher education institutions dropped by more than 5%, the lowest since the pandemic, according to data released from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Wednesday. Freshman enrollment was on the rise in the fall of 2023, showing a slight increase of 0.8% with overall enrollment increasing by 1.2%.

Enrollment of freshmen students is declining for all income levels, with middle-class freshman enrollment showing the steepest decline in 2024, according to the report.

Students are increasingly turning towards short-term certificate training programs, with freshman enrollment in credentialing programs at universities trending upwards by 7.3% in 2024 compared to 2023, the report found.

The climate on college campuses in the 2023-2024 academic year has grown increasingly tense with protests over the war in Gaza wreaking havoc at universities across the country. Hundreds of students have been arrested for incidents relating to violent protests on campus since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and few have faced harsh consequences.

Elite universities have been hit especially hard, with Jewish students choosing to avoid institutions like Columbia over its perceived antisemitism and donors fleeing from universities like Harvard over its seemingly weak commitment to protecting Jewish students.

Universities have also become increasingly comprised of mainly left-leaning faculty that outwardly express hatred towards conservatives. One University of Kansas professor was recently under fire for stating anyone who would not vote for a female president should be lined up and shot.

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