Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1485955
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM NOVEMBER 30 - DECEMBER 6, 2022 UCW 9 NEWS Decline in enrollment at UNC System schools for first time in nearly a decade a STAFF REPORT, Carolina Journal For the first time in nine years, enrollment in UNC System schools is down this year, particularly in gradu- ate programs. For fall 2022, there was a total headcount of 239,663 students across the system, down about 2% over the previous year. Of the 16 insti- tutions in the system, 12 saw decreas- es in enrollment. Four saw increases. Enrollment in graduate programs was down 7%, and transfer student en- rollment was down again for a fourth year, now at the lowest since 2013. e report also showed that the percent- age of minority students enrolling has increased for the 10th consecutive year. In 2022, one out of every three students in the UNC System are classi- fied as an underrepresented minority student. e 2022 UNC Fall Enrollment Re- port was presented to the University of North Carolina System Board of Gov- ernors' Committee on Educational Planning, Policies, and Programs for discussion. "External projections anticipated a significant dip in North Carolina high school graduates in 2022 and signifi- cant national declines over the next decade," report author David English, acting senior vice president for aca- demic affairs, wrote. e report also showed that de- mand from out of state has led to four schools exceeding their capped enrollment of out-of-state freshmen. In 1986, the UNC BOG set that the 16 UNC System schools must limit the number of out-of-state students as a percentage of the first-time freshmen coming on campus. Over the years, system schools have opposed the caps, asking that they be increased. e policy was adjusted in 2022 to be a percentage of the previous year's enrollment. For 2022, the caps were 50% for Elizabeth State University, 35% for Fayetteville State University and Winston-Salem State University, 25% for North Carolina Central University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and 18% percent for the rest of the institutions, like UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State. "e UNC System saw significant enrollment demand from first-time freshmen outside North Carolina for the fall of 2022, demand that far exceeded capacity for out-of-state freshmen," the report read. e report followed a vote by the UNC Board of Governors earlier this month in favor of fining N.C. A&T $2 million for enrolling more out-of-state students than permitted, hitting 41% of the freshman class being out-of- state. e vote came after the school exceeded the cap for two consecutive years. N.C. State, UNCW, and WCU also exceeded their caps, but by lower percentages. e three schools were notified that they would be fined if they exceed the cap again next year. e report also predicted that na- tionwide college enrollment declines are expected through the coming decade and beyond, particularly in the Midwest and northern states. Sub- stantial shifts in population indicate that by 2037, only states in the South and West will have more high school graduates than they did in 2019. "In the coming decade, the sub- stantial enrollment declines in the Northeast, Midwest, and West will cause colleges and universities in those regions to become more aggres- sive in recruiting students from the South, including North Carolina," the report read.