Students seek out higher education during recession

The economy is one of many factors influencing students to enroll.

By Will Guldin

Published Sept. 4, 2009

In the midst of a recession, students are flocking to MU and universities across the nation in record numbers. But the economic climate is only one of many factors driving these increases.

According to an MU News Bureau release, total enrollment at MU increased by 1,070 students or 3.6 percent this year. Minority enrollment figures also reached record levels with the number of Hispanic and African-American students increasing by 16 and 14.7 percent, respectively.

Vice Provost of Enrollment Management Ann Korschgen said in an e-mail those numbers were not influenced by the economy. Instead, she attributed the increase to many things, including the university's environment.

"Certainly a part of the growth is related to the increase in high school graduates in the last few years," Korschgen said. "But it is also related to the excellent educational experience that students receive here, the academic reputation of the university and the efforts made to recruit students."

Economics professor Cory Koedel said the economy is one of many factors that encourage students to go to college.

"When the economy is doing bad, its cheaper for students to go to college because they have less outside opportunity," he said.

Labor Economics professor Peter Mueser also said students are more likely to go to school during a recession because their forgone earnings are less.

"One of the biggest costs of going to school is the time you give up when you could be holding a job," Mueser said.

Mueser said the return on a college education has increased in the last 15 years, so the incentive to go to school, even during a period of economic growth when forgone earnings are high, has gone up.

He said a college education is beginning to pay more because of the growing importance of technology in the workplace.

"College students are going to be more likely to be productive in an environment where computers are important," he said.

MU Career Center Senior Coordinator Amanda Nell said students who are enrolled at MU are leaving their options open and anecdotal evidence is showing more students are considering graduate as opposed to entering the workforce.

"Some students are saying 'Well I might as well do it now,'" Nell said.

The news release stated graduate student enrollment at the university rose to 6,018 students, an increase of 207 from last year.

Large universities are not the only places seeing more students on campus.

According to a news release from the Missouri Department of Higher Education, the state's 12 public community colleges saw average enrollment increases of 12.5 percent.

In the release MDHE Commissioner Robert Stein said this growth was attributable to the economy.

"In focus groups we conducted in rural and inner city parts of the state this summer, middle and high school students expressed a nearly unanimous desire to go to college," Stein said. "Many told us they have seen their parents struggling economically and they wanted to avoid that by preparing for a high-paying job."