Statewide Iowa — There’s been a significant decline in the number of students enrolled in Iowa colleges and universities, community colleges, and trade schools.
In the fall of 2011, there were more than 363,000 students enrolled at an Iowa institution — seeking a degree or training beyond high school. By the fall of 2018, that had dropped by 38 percent — to 225,000 students. Jay Pennington of the Iowa Department of Education says that high point in 2011 was after the Great Recession.
Total enrollment in Iowa’s fifteen area community colleges has declined over the decade, too. An upward trend in Iowa’s high education is the number of Iowa high school students who are taking community college classes.
Last fall, more than 37,000 Iowa high school students were taking college classes, too. The number of students in the nation enrolled in college this fall dipped below 18 million for the first time this decade.
