Study: Fewer high school graduates are going straight to college in Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A new study displays considering that the begin of the pandemic, the variety of folks enrolling in larger training is down at each 2-calendar year and 4-12 months colleges across the place. It is the biggest fall in 50 years. In Tennessee, the range has dropped by 9% in the past 2 many years.

A new report from the Tennessee Bigger Education and learning Fee reveals less and fewer students are also graduating higher education.  In 2021, only 52.8% of high university pupils in the point out enrolled in school straight following high college. Which is a 4% drop from the calendar year right before.

“Sad to say, the previous 2 a long time have resulted in a nine-percentage issue decline in the state’s faculty-likely amount,” explained Krissy Dealejandro, the President of Tennessee Achieves.

That is approximately 7,000 less Tennessee pupils enrolling in college or university. Dealejandro explained the drop is becoming blamed mainly on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We think for the reason that of online mastering, we feel since of alternatives to go straight into the workforce and gain much more than you could many several years in the past,” Dealejandro stated. 

In a study administered by the fee, around 20% of respondents claimed that the pandemic had modified their ideas for the fall after graduating from substantial university, and an additional 18% responded they have been not sure if the pandemic experienced modified their options

“We’re imagining about the marathon and not the dash for college students and producing confident they have an understanding of what a college or university education yields for them in the extended operate,” Dealejandro mentioned.

Details show a bachelor’s degree holder earns a median of $2.8 million over their overall life span — 75% much more than if they had only a substantial school diploma.

Industry experts say the probability a superior faculty graduate will go to university speedily decreases if they will not promptly enroll. College students can find scholarship methods on the TNAchieves site.