MPR News with Angela Davis

The college enrollment cliff is here: Now what?

Students in a college classroom raise their hands
MPR News guest host Kerri Miller and her guests talk about what's behind the college enrollment decline and what it means for the future of higher education.
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America’s college campuses are entering a period of major change. The pool of traditional college-age students is shrinking, and many young people are rethinking whether college is worth the cost.

MPR News guest host Kerri Miller and her guests talk about why colleges are expecting fewer students, how public and private institutions are preparing, and what’s influencing whether — and where — young people decide to pursue higher education.

Guests:

  • Nathan Grawe is a professor of economics at Carleton College and is one of the country’s leading experts on the college enrollment cliff. He is also the author of “Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education," and “The Agile College,” which helped bring national attention to the coming decline of college-age students.

  • Suzanne Rivera is the president of Macalester College in St. Paul. She has been the president since June of 2020.

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