The Haves and Have-Nots of Higher Education - Commentary

Robert Kelchen, professor and head of the department of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, writes:  Higher education’s enrollment challenges are by now well known. The demographic cliff — a sharp decline in the number of high-school graduates nationwide — has been forecast for years and is already underway in the Northeast and Midwest. In the past, higher education was able to blunt demographic cliffs by boosting the share of high-school graduates who go to college and by attracting older students who want to improve their skills.