美国国家公共电台 NPR Fewer Students Mean Big Trouble For Higher Education

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Many fewer students are going to college this year. That's according to some new data out today. Those low enrollment¹ numbers mean that many colleges are struggling to fill lecture halls and classrooms. And that could mean trouble. In some cases, it has even forced smaller colleges to close. NPR's Elissa Nadworny got an early look at the new numbers. Hey, Elissa.

ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE²: Hey, Noel.

KING: So college enrollment is dropping?

NADWORNY: Yeah. We're in a college enrollment crisis³. I mean, these numbers confirm that. This fall, there are about 250,000 fewer students enrolled⁴ in college than a year ago. That's according to the National Student Clearinghouse, which tracks college enrollment by students. It's the eighth year in a row that we've seen enrollment go down. It's happening across the board for every type of college - community colleges, for-profit, state schools. And the drop looks especially painful for small private colleges.

KING: This is astonishing to hear because it seems as if we're in a time in history when high schools are pushing students to go to college...

NADWORNY: Totally.

KING: ...Saying college is the future. You've got to get a degree if you want to succeed. So what's going on?

NADWORNY: So the big factor is the economy, you know? It's really good. The last time college enrollment was up was in 2011. So that's the tail end of the recession⁵. Economy's good. Unemployment is down. People are working, and they're not in college. The other factor is the birth rate. Eighteen years ago, there weren't as many kids, which means there are fewer high school graduates. So even if they get a lot of people to graduate, there just aren't enough of them. The other thing is the cost of college...

KING: Yeah.

NADWORNY: ...Right? I mean, states are putting less money into higher ed, which means tuitions go up. And that strapping⁶ higher education is strapping families.

KING: Now, I know you've been looking into the numbers. And you found that this is not the first time...

NADWORNY: (Laughter).

KING: ...We've seen this kind of decline⁷, right?

NADWORNY: Yeah. So actually, in the '80s, we faced a similar enrollment decline - robust⁸ economy, lower birth rates. But there was a group of people that saved higher ed back then.

KING: Was it...

NADWORNY: It was women.

KING: ...Women? It was women.

NADWORNY: Right.

KING: Yeah. Yeah.

NADWORNY: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so, today, women overrepresent men in college. So that resource is tapped.

KING: So why is this important for most of us? I mean, why does the number of people going to college actually matter?

NADWORNY: So two big things - so employers need skilled workers. So colleges, especially community colleges, provide that training. So folks are not going to college - then they're not able to fill those jobs in the future. The other thing is that having a college degree kind of insulates⁹ you from a downturn in the economy. So a recession hits - you're able to change jobs. You're more likely to be employed.

KING: I know that you've reported on some smaller schools closing. How do colleges survive this?

NADWORNY: They're adapting. You know, one of our member station reporters, Max Larkin at WBUR, he found a school outside Boston that's going to great lengths - actually, great distances...

KING: (Laughter).

NADWORNY: ...To fill the seats. So here's some of his reporting.

MAX LARKIN, BYLINE: Pine Manor¹⁰ College opened its doors in 1911 as a small women's college. Today, the Boston area school is co-ed and serves just under 350 students. And they fight for each one. Recruitment has become essential to Pine Manor's survival¹². So Tom O'Reilly, the college's president, has taken a hands-on approach.

TOM O'REILLY: There aren't that many colleges - presidents who go out and visit high schools. Why do I do it? Because we're very intentional¹³ about who we're going to serve.

LARKIN: O'Reilly is looking for students whose parents haven't gone to college. For years, Pine Manor found them in nearby communities. Most of their student body still comes from Massachusetts. But with New England projected to graduate fewer high schoolers in the decades ahead, O'Reilly's looking beyond Greater Boston. He now makes regular recruiting¹⁴ trips to El Paso, Texas, more than 2,000 miles away.

O'REILLY: Quick question - does anyone know where Boston is?

LARKIN: On a recent visit to Valle Verde Early College High School, O'Reilly brought backup - two current Pine Manor students who are also from Texas. Business major Diego Herrera (ph) grew up in El Paso.

DIEGO HERRERA: We're here to answer any question you guys have. I am bilingual. (Speaking Spanish).

(LAUGHTER)

LARKIN: Biology major Raudel Gomez (ph) grew up in South Texas. He tells the room of high schoolers what it's like on campus.

RAUDEL GOMEZ: It's peaceful. It's welcoming. It's nice. There's nothing but green trees all over the campus.

LARKIN: Then it's O'Reilly's turn to field questions.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: What kind of student would want to go to Pine Manor?

O'REILLY: I would say students who want to be known.

LARKIN: O'Reilly used to work in sales. But he doesn't want these prospective¹⁵ students to have any illusions¹⁶ about his little college.

O'REILLY: We're a small place, so we're not going to offer what a state college offers. But what we are going to offer you is a place where faculty¹⁷ will say, hey, how can I help you?

LARKIN: The pitch is not for everyone. While Pine Manor is generous with aid, it's still more expensive than community college. It's also far from home and often far from warm. But some students are interested, like 17-year-old Skylan Reyes (ph).

SKYLAN REYES: I don't know. Like, going so far away, I think it's a - I think it would be super cool. It'd be a really great experience, like, to go out of your comfort zone, especially since we're so small here.

LARKIN: So far, these trips are paying off. Texans now make up 6% of Pine Manor's enrollment. That's about 20 paying students who had probably never heard of, let alone considered, the school until they heard directly from its president.

For NPR News, I'm Max Larkin in Boston.

KING: So that's really interesting. Pine Manor is going after first-generation students. Are there other groups - other demographic groups that colleges should be looking at here?

NADWORNY: So one huge opportunity for colleges is this population of people - they're mostly adults - who have some college and no degree. Recent research showed that this was 36 million Americans. States are paying attention to this. I talked to someone in Michigan named Erica Orians, who works with colleges there to recruit¹¹ students.

ERICA ORIANS: In Michigan, we have about 100,000 high school graduates every year. But we know that there are about 1 million adults in Michigan with some college and no degree.

KING: It's amazing.

NADWORNY: So for every one high schooler, there are about 10 perspective adults. You know, the challenge, of course, is finding those students. Like, high schoolers, we know where they are. They're in their high schools. So it's easier to recruit. And for adults...

ORIANS: They are everywhere. I mean, they're working. They are parents. They are engaged in their community. Even just finding the students can be a challenge.

NADWORNY: They have lives. Like, they move around. They change their addresses. They change their cellphones.

KING: Are there any bright spots here?

NADWORNY: So the one bright spot is that colleges are realizing they can serve the students they already have rather than go out and get new students. So they're investing in student supports like counseling¹⁸, like data to help students graduate. And it's working. Last week we got new numbers on college completion rates. So 60% of people who start college are finishing in six years. It's the highest it's been in nearly a decade.

KING: That is good news. NPR education reporter Elissa Nadworny, thanks so much.

NADWORNY: Thank you.

1 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

4 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

6 strapping   

adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• He's a strapping lad—already bigger than his father. 他是一个魁梧的小伙子——已经比他父亲高了。
• He was a tall strapping boy. 他是一个高大健壮的小伙子。

7 decline   

n.衰微，跌落，下降；vt.使降低，婉谢；vi.下降，衰落，偏斜

参考例句：

• I must decline to show favour to any of the candidates.我必须拒绝偏袒任何一位候选人。
• The birthrate is on the decline.出生率在下降。

8 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

9 insulates   

使绝缘( insulate的第三人称单数 )； 使隔离； 使免除（不愉快的经历）； 使免受（不良影响）

参考例句：

• One often insulates telephone wires by a covering of rubber or paper. 电线通常以一层橡皮或纸绝缘。
• Her family insulates her from contact with the world. 她的家人使她与世隔绝。

10 manor   

n.庄园，领地

参考例句：

• The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
• I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主，而是这儿的女主人。

11 recruit   

n.招聘，新兵，新成员；v.恢复，补充，招募

参考例句：

• The country's first act would be to recruit for the navy.国家的第一个行动是为海军征募新兵。
• This is a nationwide campaign to recruit women into trade unions.这是一次吸收妇女参加工会的全国性运动。

12 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

13 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

14 recruiting   

招聘( recruit的现在分词 )； 吸收某人为新成员； 动员…（提供帮助）； 雇用

参考例句：

• We are recruiting a sales manager with responsibility for the European market. 我们正在招聘负责欧洲市场的销售经理。
• "Hoist the recruiting flag and hungry men will come. “插起招军旗，就有吃粮人。”

15 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

16 illusions   

错觉( illusion的名词复数 )； 幻想； 错误观念； 假象

参考例句：

• Don't part with your illusions. 不要放弃你的幻想。 来自每日一句
• I have no illusions about his ability. 我对他的能力不抱任何幻想。

17 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

18 counseling   

n.咨询服务

参考例句：

• A multimillionaire media magnate has shocked his employees with his candor by telling them all that he's putting his business affairs on hold to enter an alcoholism-counseling program. 一位身份数百万的媒体大亨，坦诚地告诉他全体员工他将暂时搁置他的事业以便参加戒酒班，令员工大为惊愕。
• She will need medical help and counseling to overcome the tragedy. 她将需要医疗帮助和心理咨询来平复这场悲剧。