The number of Nontraditional-age students has been on the rise in higher education over time, and although this population has been increasing nationwide, there has been a continued decline in nontraditional-age students at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). This quantitative study focused on the background characteristics, academic…

Background/Context: Public two-year and technical colleges have experienced declines in enrollment since the COVID-19 pandemic. While new data from the National Student Clearinghouse show that enrollment is beginning to increase, it is still below pre-pandemic levels and not all areas are experiencing the same levels of rising enrollment. At the…

With state funding and student enrollment on the decline, community colleges are looking for creative ways to grow revenue. To meet this challenge, community colleges are becoming more entrepreneurial in nature. Successful colleges understand their strengths, recognize the needs of their community and develop programs that marry these for…

Faced with declining numbers of students in teacher education programs, policymakers in many states are considering new actions that might increase teacher supply. One approach that has gained increasing popularity is community colleges beginning to offer 4-year degrees in teacher education. This study explores state adoption of these programs and…

Affirmative action was banned in California, Texas, Washington, and Florida in the 1990s. Following this early wave, additional states banned the practice, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. In response to concerns about underrepresented minorities' falling college enrollment in flagship public…

For decades, Catholic schools, particularly inner-city Catholic schools, have seen declines in enrollment and an increasing need for subsidies from their dioceses. Many dioceses, however, have been unable to shoulder that burden, forcing schools to close. In response to difficult financial circumstances, the archdioceses of Indianapolis, Miami,…

This study examines the effects of affirmative action bans in four states (California, Florida, Texas, and Washington) on the enrollment of underrepresented students of color within six different graduate fields of study: the natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, business, education, and humanities. Findings show that affirmative action…

In 2000, the author took over the leadership of a large elementary school located in a small community in western Pinellas County, Florida. During her first year, the student population was around 950 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Today the school population is around 750 students, with 93 percent being white students who live in…

Research Services calculates enrollment projections on an annual basis. These projections are presented each year at the district's Pupil Population Estimating Conference. For this year's projections, two years of trend data (2006-07 and 2007-08) were used to project student enrollment for 2008-09. Projections are provided by individual grade…

The 7th edition of this publication provides updated projections of high school graduates for each year and each state (plus the District of Columbia) through 2022. The profile breaks down the projections by major racial and ethnic groups: (1) American Indian/Alaska Native; (2) Asian/Pacific Islander; (3) Black, non-Hispanic; (4) Hispanic; and (5)…

State funding mechanisms are seen as coming under scrutiny because they don't accurately reflect enrollment decline effects on overall costs. Ohio has worked out a method of relating funding formula to actual costs and Florida reduces funding by half the average cost for enrollment declines. (Author/MLW)

Florida's community college system is uniquely positioned to work toward the fulfillment of the goal of equitable representation of black students in the state's system of higher education. At present, efforts are falling far short of that goal. While blacks represented 18.7% of the 15-24 year olds in the state in 1988, they earned only 4.8% of…