College enrollment down

[meangreen11]

AUSTIN (Nexstar)— By 2030, it’s projected that 62% of all jobs in Texas will require some sort of education after high school, according to a Georgetown University researcher Anthony Carnevale.

That’s why worry was expressed during a State Higher Education Interim Committee meeting on Tuesday. Texas is seeing fewer high school students go straight to college — an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

read more: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/college-enrollment-down-with-62-of-texas-jobs-to-require-post-high-school-education-in-10-years/amp/

[Censored by Laurie]

41 minutes ago, meangreen11 said:

AUSTIN (Nexstar)— By 2030, it’s projected that 62% of all jobs in Texas will require some sort of education after high school, according to a Georgetown University researcher Anthony Carnevale.

That’s why worry was expressed during a State Higher Education Interim Committee meeting on Tuesday. Texas is seeing fewer high school students go straight to college — an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

read more: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/college-enrollment-down-with-62-of-texas-jobs-to-require-post-high-school-education-in-10-years/amp/

going to float out the idea that we're concerned about the wrong paragraph here. the first paragraph is the more alarming and cause for further thought. 

[greenminer]

This is bigger than COVID19, although I agree the lockdowns probably didn't help.  I think about this a lot, and (only my speculation here) IMO the generation ahead of me (boomers?) don't understand how the internet has impacted this part of our lives.

Nearly anything you want to know and learn is out there and freely accessible via a Google search.  While pursuing higher education will always hold high value, universities/colleges are no longer gate keepers that we have to go through.  Our role as teachers (includes me) is less of a ship captain and more-so the navigator: we are here to guide you through all this noise.

With so much information accessible without needing universities, and the absurdly high tuition rates, it shouldn't surprise anyone that enrollment figures are dropping.  My question here would be: timing.  How long have enrollment rates been falling? I would think this goes back to pre-COVID, and the timing of this article seems to be about highlighting/accentuating one more negative thing about the pandemic.

[LongJim]

Might even be encouraging that not everybody is wanting to go to "college".  There are plenty of jobs that don't require it.  I think it's desirable to have some sort of training for a career after HS, but college is definitely not mandatory for lots of great jobs, and as far as I'm concerned that's a good thing.

[Cr1028]

18 hours ago, Censored by Laurie said:

going to float out the idea that we're concerned about the wrong paragraph here. the first paragraph is the more alarming and cause for further thought. 

I agree with you.

[Censored by Laurie]

1 hour ago, LongJim said:

Might even be encouraging that not everybody is wanting to go to "college".  There are plenty of jobs that don't require it.  I think it's desirable to have some sort of training for a career after HS, but college is definitely not mandatory for lots of great jobs, and as far as I'm concerned that's a good thing.

I agree that not everyone should be herded into traditional 4-year programs and I do think having a deep pool of jobs that have no degree-requirements is a good thing. however, I think that pool is shrinking...as at least from an optics perspective, companies/industries think it's important to have a college/post-grad educated work-force, even if it's really not necessary. 

a large contributor to the student loan debt crisis has been over-education requirements for entry/low-level positions without adequate compensation.

teaching for example. many school districts are now requiring all teachers have or be actively pursuing a Masters degree for employment...so while already the increased cost of a four-year early education degree has far outpaced a rise in wages for a 2nd grade teacher, now too many need to add 2-3 years more worth of loans in order to be considered for a $40k/year job. 

[CaribbeanGreen]

4 hours ago, Censored by Laurie said:

I agree that not everyone should be herded into traditional 4-year programs and I do think having a deep pool of jobs that have no degree-requirements is a good thing. however, I think that pool is shrinking...as at least from an optics perspective, companies/industries think it's important to have a college/post-grad educated work-force, even if it's really not necessary. 

a large contributor to the student loan debt crisis has been over-education requirements for entry/low-level positions without adequate compensation.

teaching for example. many school districts are now requiring all teachers have or be actively pursuing a Masters degree for employment...so while already the increased cost of a four-year early education degree has far outpaced a rise in wages for a 2nd grade teacher, now too many need to add 2-3 years more worth of loans in order to be considered for a $40k/year job. 

This is 100% spot on. The education requirements/salary & benefits matrix is way, way off. 

[meangreenfaninno]

4 hours ago, Censored by Laurie said:

I agree that not everyone should be herded into traditional 4-year programs and I do think having a deep pool of jobs that have no degree-requirements is a good thing. however, I think that pool is shrinking...as at least from an optics perspective, companies/industries think it's important to have a college/post-grad educated work-force, even if it's really not necessary. 

a large contributor to the student loan debt crisis has been over-education requirements for entry/low-level positions without adequate compensation.

teaching for example. many school districts are now requiring all teachers have or be actively pursuing a Masters degree for employment...so while already the increased cost of a four-year early education degree has far outpaced a rise in wages for a 2nd grade teacher, now too many need to add 2-3 years more worth of loans in order to be considered for a $40k/year job. 

I agree with you.  Also would add that the state used to pay a much larger share of the cost in years past.  The politicians in Texas have shaved the budget down to dangerous levels.

[Coffee and TV]

14 minutes ago, meangreenfaninno said:

I agree with you.  Also would add that the state used to pay a much larger share of the cost in years past.  The politicians in Texas have shaved the budget down to dangerous levels.

No state has been immune from underfunding higher education over the last 20-25 years. Couple this with the requirement of having a degree for jobs they're not needed in and suddenly you've got all sorts of punditry articles about the various industries millennials are killing. 

[southsideguy]

plumbers and electricians can make six figures these days.  Trade school is not a bad idea.

[GBarksdale]

On 5/12/2022 at 10:29 AM, Censored by Laurie said:

companies/industries think it's important to have a college/post-grad educated work-force, even if it's really not necessary. 

a large contributor to the student loan debt crisis has been over-education requirements for entry/low-level positions

This