Students Not Going To College Biggest Issue For State Schools

(Cedar Falls, IA) — A Board of Regents staff member says a drop in people going to college is one of the big factors behind a five-year decline in enrollment at the three state universities. Analyst Jason Pontius says there’s been a six-year period of a five percentage point decline in the number of high school students who decide to go to college. Pontius says a drop in international students and a smaller sophomore and junior class recently have also hurt enrollment. He says UNI, ISU, and the UI all schools saw an increase in first-year students this fall and that is a good sign. Pontius says if that growth continues, the schools can bring enrollment back up again.