Raising prices during a recession usually isn't a great idea. For America's colleges, however, it has been a successful strategy. College enrollment rates are at an all-time high across the country. In October, 41% of 18-24 year olds were enrolled, up from 39% a year ago. This is in spite of tuition fees that have risen 4-7%.
The economy seems the most likely culprit, as unemployment hit 10.2% in October. It was an even higher 19.1% for 16-24 year olds. Other possible reasons are the college premium and the fact that the pool of potential college-goers has grown.
1 comment:
This is such an interesting concept to read. It never occurred to me that colleges were one of the few businesses that could afford to raise prices during a recession, but it makes sense. If there are no other options, people will go to school. It seems a bit unfair to take advantage of such a situation, but it will help to counteract their lack of funding, which is beneficial. Economic reasons for attending college aside, I was also interested to hear that college enrollment has gone up simply because more students are graduating from high school now than in earlier times.
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