By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed
New book says most colleges — and the vast majority of nonelite institutions — are about to face severe shortage of potential students. Yes, everyone in admissions knows that certain groups of students — those who graduate from good high schools and have parents able to pay a significant share or all of their tuition and other college expenses — are shrinking in number. And the situation is more severe in the Northeast and Midwest, where populations are shrinking, than in other parts of the country. Those demographic realities, known for years, have led colleges to adjust strategies: new programs to attract adult students. Online education. More outreach to parts of the country where the population is growing. Attracting full-pay international students. Some combination of those and other ideas will work for most institutions, enrollment professionals have said. But what if they are wrong? What if the demographics are about to get much worse for higher education than the experts have expected?
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