Fewer Students Are Going To College. Here's Why That Matters

"This fall, there were nearly 250,000 fewer students enrolled in college than a year ago, according to new numbers out Monday from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which tracks college enrollment by student."

"'That's a lot of students that we're losing,' says Doug Shapiro, who leads the research center at the Clearinghouse."

"And this year isn't the first time this has happened. Over the past eight years, college enrollment nationwide has fallen about 11%. Every sector — public state schools, community colleges, for-profits and private liberal arts schools — has felt the decline, though it has been especially painful for small private colleges, where, in some cases, institutions have been forced to close."

"'We're in a crisis right now, and it's a complicated one,' says Angel Pérez, who oversees enrollment at Trinity College, a small liberal arts school in Hartford, Conn."