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Falling College Enrollment Isn’t a Crisis

Economists and researchers largely agree on the benefits of a college degree, as study after study show that its return on investment is, on average, positive. Progressive lawmakers and pundits take these findings out of context to push for their preferred polices, such as “free college,” while conveniently ignoring the fact that 4 in 10 college students never graduate or the swath of new research showing these returns vary substantially by program and institution. What is more unfortunate, however, is that in doing so they often characterize those who chose an alternative education or career pathway as second class or inferior to those who took the traditional route preferred by the Left.   

The Washington Post doubled down on this biased and inappropriate characterization in a recent article. It claimed that because the college enrollment is down, there will be more Americans who live in poverty, rely on welfare, get divorced, and even volunteer and vote less. These elitist stereotypes are both inaccurate and insulting to the vast majority of hard-working Americans who do not hold a college degree.

Lower college enrollment does not mean Americans aren’t living up to their potential. For one, a baccalaureate degree is not the only path to achieving the American dream.

Every day, Americans are finding that pursuing a skilled trade or an associate degree is the right career pathway for them. According to Forbes, apprenticeships have risen by 64 percent since 2010. The workforce development model allows students to earn a wage while they learn on the job. For many Americans, this is the optimal financial choice for themselves and their families. 

Looking down on careers in critical industries, particularly during a worker shortage, is not only counterproductive and detached from reality but shows a very dangerous prejudice. For example, the current shortage of truck drivers hamstrings industry and exacerbates our supply chain crisis.

There is a growing skills gap in our country and focusing on college degrees alone will not close that gap. Now more than ever, employers need workers who can quickly obtain the skills needed for in-demand jobs. Work-based learning offers job seekers the opportunity to acquire those skills without delaying the start of their career.   

The assumption that lower college enrollment means more low-income Americans ignores other fulfilling career opportunities open to students as well as those career outcomes. We should encourage students to pursue technical careers, which often lead to incomes higher than college graduates and are offered at a fraction of the cost. For example, an apprentice who completes The Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education’s apprenticeship program can earn nearly $100,000 after five years. This far exceeds the earnings of many costly graduate and professional degrees from “elite” private institutions, such as a master’s in publishing from NYU where $116,000 in student loans will get you an annual income of $42,000 for the typical graduate.

Despite the growing popularity of apprenticeship programs, the Biden administration has attacked these opportunities by cancelling the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs). These employer driven apprenticeship programs were invaluable to apprentices seeking to learn a high-skilled trade. Getting rid of this program was particularly harmful, as many of these apprenticeship programs offer nursing credentials. Couple this with the administration’s attempts to shutter proprietary institutions – which provide 30 percent of the nation’s nursing degrees, half of which are being awarded to minority students - and we will almost certainly see our country’s shortage of medical personnel exacerbated.

We have spent too many decades forcing our children into pursuing expensive college degrees that fail to live up to their promise, all the while critical industries offering high-wage jobs and opportunity to the middle-class languish.

We should encourage individuals to pursue these important pathways to dignified and in-demand work, not chastise them. A traditional college or university is not the only way to achieving success in the Land of Opportunity.

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