Feb 9, 2017 3 min read

Two front-page stories, one on top of the other, in last Wednesday’s Observer-Reporter centered on college enrollment declines. Both reports merited prominent news placement because of the impact – or potential impact – the numbers dips may have locally.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education plans to hire a consultant to examine why its 14 universities, collectively, have experienced a 12 percent dropoff over six years. California University of Pennsylvania, one of those state-owned schools, has endured an alarming 20 percent decline between 2001 and last fall.

Those nosediving figures have been accompanied by a significant drop in state funding since the State System was formed in 1982. Dollars from Harrisburg initially covered 67 percent of the PASSHE budget. It is now 25 percent, putting more of a financial burden on students and their families.

All of this has heaved a subsequent burden on the State System officials, who have commissioned an across-the-board study that may result in the closing or consolidation of campuses.

Those travails were accompanied by an article detailing Westmoreland County Community College’s decision to close its Greene County branch in EverGreene Technology Park in May because of plummeting enrollment.

What is particularly jarring about both of these stories is that the respective schools are much more affordable than so many others across the country. The State System has a reputation of providing quality education at a modest price. And what’s more cost effective than community college, where the level of learning is considered to be better than it’s ever been?

This isn’t just a regional conundrum. Enrollments at colleges and universities nationwide peaked at more than 21 million in 2010, but have been sliding since. The traditional philosophy of going to college to get a better job that pays well appears to be diminishing for a variety of reasons. Tuitions are out of control. Student debt is way out of control. Opportunities in certain professions are shrinking. Too many employers are cutting or combining jobs or simply not hiring.

An oft-heard lament, “My son was an honor student at MIT and is working at McDonald’s,” isn’t such an exaggeration these days.

Enrollment declines at Cal U. and other colleges across the commonwealth may indicate fewer high school students are opting for undergraduate and graduate degrees, especially at a time in which the job market appears to be improving. Unemployment rates have been declining nationwide over the past year, indicating increased hiring.

Jobless figures in the Pittsburgh region, by contrast, have risen over that time, but that has been attributed to an expanding workforce. More people who had given up looking for a job, and were not categorized as unemployed, are now seeking work in an improved climate – and are now labeled “jobless.”

Instead of accruing college debt while pursuing a career that may never materialize, more high schoolers may be considering careers that don’t require a sheepskin. Manufacturing is picking up. Welders and CDL drivers are in demand. The natural gas and oil industry, as predicted more than a year ago, is making strides and will require large groups of laborers.

Then there is the cracker plant being developed in Potter Township, Beaver County, which will provide thousands of jobs en route to opening early next decade – and, likely, thousands more afterward, on site and in the local supply chain industries.

A bachelor’s degree, historically, has been a prudent investment, and remains so for those pursuing certain careers. But it appears college isn’t the attractive option it once was.