The sectorwide drop in undergraduate enrollment over the past decade isn’t happening on every campus. But for some—particularly small private institutions, public regionals, and community colleges—the declines have often been acute. 

Leaders from three such institutions describe the effects of the sliding enrollment on their schools—and how they’re hoping to halt the downward trend.

Illustration: Gwenda Kaczor/The Chronicle Review

Some of the most important innovations in higher education today are being driven by institutions that get little glory.

In this commentary, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona calls for a new vision of college excellence—one defined not by privilege, legacy, and selectivity, but by equity, inclusivity, and real upward mobility for students of color, immigrants, working parents, adult learners, and rural and first-generation college students.

There are 4 million fewer students in college today than just 10 years ago. And as President Biden gears up to make a key decision on student loan forgiveness, more students and families are asking: Is college even worth it? 

The short answer is yes, say many education and labor experts. Reporter Jon Marcus of The Hechinger Report weighs in on the decline of high school students choosing to go to college and what higher ed institutions are doing in response.