Connecticut’s $125.5 million investment to boost sagging enrollment at state colleges and universities makes sense because without a highly educated workforce, the Nutmeg State will lose one of its most valuable economic competitiveness advantages.
However, no amount of funding can cover up a much more deep-rooted problem the state faces: stagnant population growth.
As HBJ Managing Editor Brad Kane reports in this week’s issue, enrollment at Connecticut’s 17 community colleges, state universities, and online-only Charter Oak State College dropped to 92,989 this academic year, down 4.3 percent from its 2010 peak and its lowest level since 2008.
A big reason for the decline is fewer high school seniors graduating in Connecticut. In fact, the number of high school graduates is declining 1.8 percent annually, according to Gregory Gray, president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education. That decline is happening despite the fact Connecticut’s on-time high school graduation rate is up 3.7 percent since 2010.
The numbers indicate that Connecticut isn’t producing a higher number of underachieving students; there are simply fewer pupils attending schools here, and a big reason for the drop off is stagnant population growth, which speaks to the broader issue of jobs and economic opportunities.
Connecticut’s failure to meaningfully and consistently grow its economy over the last three decades (we have fewer people in the workforce today than we did in 1989) has made the state a less attractive place to live. High taxes and the overall high cost of living are also drawbacks, but people migrate to where the jobs are, and many other states have grown their economies at much faster rates than Connecticut.
The state can spend all the money it wants marketing its great colleges and universities. Yet, the only way to ensure consistent future enrollment growth is to make sure well-paying jobs are available, not just to students seeking higher education but to their parents as well. After all, if working adults move out of Connecticut to seek greater job prospects elsewhere, the chances of their children attending Central Connecticut State University or Tunxis Community College are greatly diminished.
The $125.5 million Transform CSUS 2020 initiative, which aims to boost CSUS enrollment to more than 100,000 by 2018, has some good ideas.
Incentivizing students to finish partially completed degrees by offering them a few free classes certainly will get more people back to school. Ramping up enrollment at the state’s online-only Charter Oak State College has its pluses and minuses. Yes, online education significantly increases access to higher education, which is a good thing. But Gray said part of the allure here is expanding Charter Oak’s customer base beyond Connecticut’s borders.
Question is, does that really help the state, or simply serve as a way for CSUS to pad its enrollment numbers? It’s hard to see Connecticut gaining any long-term economic benefits from a New Mexico student taking online classes at Charter Oak. CSUS’s main goal should focus on producing quality employees for Connecticut’s workforce.Â
To build or not to build?
Publicly financed U.S. sports stadiums seem to be in vogue these days, and now Hartford is getting in on the act. We urge caution.
The New Britain Rock Cats have agreed to move to downtown Hartford and sign a 25-year lease if the city builds a $60 million, 10,000-seat stadium at 1215 Main St. Having the Rock Cats play their home games in the city, overlooking the Hartford skyline would be a major economic boost for downtown.
However, we believe Rock Cats owners should be asked to put more of their own skin in the game. Mayor Pedro Segarra said the team has agreed to take a 10 percent stake in the new stadium, but we question if that’s enough of a commitment. In 25 years, Hartford needs to avoid being in the same precarious position as New Britain: Having a beautiful stadium with no team to play in it.
