Shortly before the holidays, the state announced that college enrollments in Connecticut had suffered a 2-percent decline from 2012. At a time of economic stress, when Connecticut’s public colleges are a comparative bargain that might keep more students from fleeing to other states, how could this be? My reaction: Well, duh!
To be fair, the drop in enrollments probably has less to do with anything happening in Connecticut than it does with national trends and the upward pressure on tuitions causing students and their parents to reconsider whether such an expense is really worth it.