Yesterday I wrote about some research about average salaries of community college graduates, and I commented (negatively) on the researcher’s conclusions that students ought to think twice about attending community college.

It seems that hordes of students are ignoring this researcher’s advice.

According to Inside Higher Ed, a nationwide survey of 120 community colleges indicates that enrollments are way up at two-year colleges.

While a quarter of respondents are seeing modest enrollment increases of between 1 and 4% this year over last, 28% of respondents report an increase in headcount of 10% or more.

Also, 16% of respondents report an increase in full-time enrollments of 10% or greater.

Regardless of statistical averages about salaries and lifetime earnings, students and their families are making decisions based on economic realities.

Now let’s just hope that public policy and academic research keeps up with what is happening on the ground.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

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