Education Watch – College Enrollment Down, Even After The Pandemic

May 26, 2023 | Wisconsin Voices Blog

From IRG, since no one has reported it: High school graduates immediately enrolling in college dropped from 59.2% in 2019 to 54.3% in 2020 to 53.2% in 2021, understandably driven by a distaste for virtual learning or pandemic stress. But it dropped again in 2022 to 51.4%! 13% enrolled in technical college and 38% enrolled for a baccalaureate. Read more here or here.

  • In 2019, just 3 districts had 0 tertiary education enrollers. In 2022, there were 13.
  • The highest-performing districts are no surprise, but the highest above 50% low-income were Butternut, Luck, Riverdale, Juda, Turtle Lake, Cassville, and River Ridge, all over 66.7% enrollment.
  • Many small cities had deep drops in college enrollment since 2019. Among big cities, Wausau fell the most at -15.1%, followed by Janesville at -14.5% and Racine at -14.3%.