From Fortune:

U.S. college enrollment finally rose in 2023 after declining each year from 2011. Numbers rose 1.5%, with 18.3 million students enrolled. Gen Z students are leaning towards skills-based training. Enrollment numbers surged for community colleges with strong vocational programs, specifically into construction trades, repair, and precision production programs.

The attitude of the youth towards college is shifting, 68% of Gen Z feel they do not need a college degree to be successful. Gen Z feels work experience is more important than academic schooling and budget-minded students are creating a demand for community colleges.

Employers have come around to differing views about college degrees as well. IBM coined the term “new collar jobs” and other major companies including Apple, Delta, Google, and General Motors have all joined in dropping degree requirements.

Enrollment has fallen over 2 million since 2011. An attitude shift, combined with demographic changes, favoring smaller numbers of college-age people, lead to this decline.



Read more: College enrollment rose in 2023 for the first time in a decade