上大學的學生越來越少。這是為什么呢?

上大學的學生越來越少。這是為什么呢?

This fall, there were nearly 250,000 fewer students enrolled in college than a year ago, according to new numbers out Monday from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which tracks college enrollment by student.

全國學生信息交換研究中心周一公布的最新數(shù)據(jù)顯示，今年秋季，美國大學入學人數(shù)比一年前減少了近25萬。該中心按學生人數(shù)進行跟蹤。

"That's a lot of students that we're losing," says Doug Shapiro, who leads the research center at the Clearinghouse.

“我們失去了很多學生，”該信息交換研究中心的負責人道格·夏皮羅說。

And this year isn't the first time this has happened. Over the past eight years, college enrollment nationwide has fallen about 11%. Every sector — public state schools, community colleges, for-profits and private liberal arts schools — has felt the decline, though it has been especially painful for small private colleges, where, in some cases, institutions have been forced to close.

這種情況今年已經(jīng)不是第一次發(fā)生了。在過去八年中，全國高校入學率下降了約11%。每個部門——公立學校、社區(qū)大學、盈利性大學和私立文科學校——都感受到了這種下降，盡管小型私立大學尤其痛苦，在某些情況下，它們的機構已經(jīng)被迫關閉。

"We're in a crisis right now, and it's a complicated one," says Angel Pérez, who oversees enrollment at Trinity College, a small liberal arts school in Hartford, Conn.

“我們現(xiàn)在正處于一個復雜的危機中，”安吉爾·佩雷斯說，他負責負責三一學院的招生工作，這是一所位于康涅狄格州哈特福德的小型文科學院。

Why is this happening?

為什么會發(fā)生這種情況?

The biggest factor for the years of decline is the strong economy. The last time U.S. college enrollment went up was 2011, at the tail end of the recession. As the economy gets better, unemployment goes down — it's currently at 3.5 % — and more people leave college, or postpone it, and head to work.

多年來經(jīng)濟衰退的最大原因是強勁的經(jīng)濟。上一次美國大學入學人數(shù)增加是在2011年經(jīng)濟衰退末期。隨著經(jīng)濟好轉，失業(yè)率下降——目前為3.5%——越來越多的人離開大學，或推遲學業(yè)，去工作。

When the recession hit a decade ago, the reverse happened: Many people, especially older adults, returned to college. That bump in college enrollment set records, and in some ways the current downturn is simply "colleges returning to more historic levels of enrollment," Shapiro says.

十年前經(jīng)濟衰退來襲時，情況正好相反:許多人，尤其是老年人，回到了大學。大學入學人數(shù)的激增創(chuàng)下了紀錄，而在某些方面，目前的低迷只不過是“大學入學人數(shù)回到了歷史水平，”夏皮羅說。

Even families who are able to afford higher education are starting to ask themselves whether the cost is worth it.

即使是能夠負擔得起高等教育的家庭也開始捫心自問，這樣的花費是否值得。

The benefits of a degree

學位的好處

A strong economy and soaring college costs have made it even more difficult for colleges to persuade students to enroll.

強勁的經(jīng)濟和飛漲的大學學費使得大學更難說服學生入學。

And yet, employers still need skilled workers, whether it's a profession that requires a four-year degree, other jobs that require an associate degree, or skills or trades that need certificates or credentials. If fewer people are getting those credentials, those jobs often sit empty.

然而，雇主仍然需要有技能的工人，不管是需要四年學歷的職業(yè)，還是需要大專學歷的工作，還是需要證書或文憑的技能或行業(yè)。如果越來越少的人能拿到這些證書，那么這些工作通常都是空空如也。

Creative recruitment

創(chuàng)造性的招生

It's a simple solution: When you don't have enough students, it makes sense to find and recruit some additional students. In the 1970s and '80s, schools faced a similar enrollment crisis. Back then, colleges focused mainly on recruiting women. Today that resource is tapped out: Female students make up more than half of all enrollment.

這是一個簡單的解決辦法:當你沒有足夠的學生時，尋找和招募一些額外的學生是有意義的。在上世紀七八十年代，學校面臨著類似的招生危機。當時，大學主要招收女性。如今，這一資源已被耗盡:女生占了全部入學人數(shù)的一半以上。

So the question now is, what is the next group of students for recruiters to target? Based on the shifting demographics in public schools, it's likely that Hispanics and first-generation college students are at the top of that list and will make up a greater share of any future increase in enrollment.

所以現(xiàn)在的問題是，招生員的下一組目標是什么學生?根據(jù)公立學校人口結構的變化，拉美裔和第一代大學生很可能是最受歡迎的，并且在未來的招生增長中會占據(jù)更大的份額。

Returning adults

重返（校園）的成年人

While a lot of recruiting focuses on high school students, many colleges might do well to look at another pool of potential students: adults returning to college. New research shows there are about 36 million Americans — mainly adults — who have some college and no degree. These students offer a huge opportunity for colleges, and in some communities they are far more prevalent than seniors in high school.

雖然很多大學的招生重點是高中生，但很多大學可能會考慮另一群潛在的學生:重返大學的成年人。新的研究表明，大約有3600萬美國人——主要是成年人——上過一些大學，但沒有學位。這些學生為大學(招生工作)提供了巨大的機會，在一些社區(qū)，他們比高中畢業(yè)生還要普遍。