While high schools across Indiana are educating more students than they have in the past two decades, the state's college enrollment is at its lowest in recent history. To many, such as the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, this leads to only one conclusion: Hoosier kids are no longer pursuing college degrees.
One local economist disagrees. Hoosiers are still attending college — just not in Indiana. And this will have huge, decades-long consequences for the state's economy.
The higher education enrollment cliff — a common prediction that the number of college students will plummet by more than 15% beginning in 2025 — has already begun across the nation. As fewer young adults go to four-year universities, the looming scarcity is kicking off a battle among U.S. states to claim those who are still enrolling.
Why do states care how many students go to college? A state's college attendance and job outlook often go hand-in-hand, feeding into one another in a continuous loop. Research has shown a person with even just some post-secondary education will earn higher wages and experience lower unemployment. Similarly, jobs with the highest projected growth by the Bureau of Labor Statistics are those that have some form of college degree, such as healthcare practitioners and equipment technicians. Meanwhile, jobs that are expected to decline — construction, manufacturing and security — typically require their workforce to have a only a high school education.
When technology giant Intel chose Ohio over Indiana to build its multi-billion dollar expansion, economist Michael Hicks opined Indiana lost that bid because businesses do not see a promising future in the state.
"We have great schools, but if we're not going to do things to get Hoosier kids to go to them and to stay here, (businesses are) just going to go to where the workers are," Hicks told The Herald-Times.
What's going on?As Indiana University's enrollment increases, Monroe County's presence on campus shrinks