Colleges Prepare for Record Enrollment
Aug. 25 -- This fall, as thousands of parents get their teens ready for college, many may be wondering if their child’s school is ready for them.
Generation-Y — the children of the baby boom generation — will start enrolling in college this year and they’re hitting campuses in record numbers. Total college enrollment will rise to a record 15.1 million this school year, estimates the Department of Education.
What’s the engine behind the boom? An unprecedented period of economic prosperity has made it possible for more students to attend college. Experts say that, and an increasing number of adult students continuing their education, is creating a tidal wave of new students.
And there’s no end in sight.
Over the next two decades, the number of undergraduate students enrolled in college is expected to swell 19 percent to about 16 million, according to Educational Testing Services, a research and testing organization that administers the SAT.
While a growing student population could ultimately equal a more prosperous future work force, for the time being many university officials are scrambling to find ways to educate and accommodate the onslaught of new students.
The Housing Crunch
“This year really hit us hard,” says Dawn Burns Smith, assistant director of housing for Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. “If we could build another residence hall right now, we could fill it.”
Rutgers, like many other universities, received an unexpectedly large number of applications for housing this year and is now faced with the daunting task of housing their incoming students. In addition to the increase in headcount is the fact that residence halls these days don’t look much like the dorms of the 1960s and ’70s.
“It’s easier to live on campus these days,” says Smith. “Universities have really changed to accommodate students’ needs and desires.”
Gone are the days of curfews, rigid dorm rules and bad food in the cafeteria. Today’s residence halls provide a suite of amenities to attract and retain students.
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