Fairfield County”™s eight major universities and colleges enrolled 1,200 more students this fall than a year ago, a 3.6 percent increase that tripled statewide enrollment growth.
The Connecticut Department of Higher Education warns that trend could soon reverse itself, however, as the number of graduates from Connecticut high schools is expected to drop 9 percent between 2009 and 2015.
Even as schools attempt to mitigate that drop by increasing the number of graduates who are able to attend college, vendors that provide services to schools face a potential drop in revenue as schools match expenses with revenues and needs.
“We”™re going to face a significant pipeline issue unless we take effective steps now to encourage more youngsters to consider and prepare for college,” said Frank Ridley, chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education in Connecticut.
For a sixth consecutive year, enrollment reached a record level at Connecticut universities and colleges, thanks to a demographically driven baby “boomlet.” Some 179,000 students matriculated this fall, up 1.3 percent from a year ago.
As an example of the economic impact added students can have, between 1987 and 2005, Connecticut universities and colleges had a net gain of 12,400 students. Over the same period, they added 16,000 additional employees to their payrolls, according to Bryan Cook, associate director of the American Council on Education”™s Center for Policy Analysis.
The hiring has a multiplier effect as academic paychecks are converted into housing purchases and other expenditures that drive local economies.
Looking at the impact of a specific school, between the 2003 and 2005 school years Fairfield University had a net gain of just 120 students; but increased spending by $18 million to $165 million.
While a large portion of the added expense undoubtedly was created by inflation on goods and services the school purchases, the additional 120 students may have increased the school”™s annual spending by $4 million.
For the fiscal year ending June 2005, the Fairfield school spent:
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Ӣ $54 million on payroll, up $3.3 million from 2003;
Ӣ $5.6 million on food services, up $640,000;
Ӣ $5 million on financial services, up $630,000;
Ӣ $3.8 million on equipment rentals, up $600,000;
Ӣ $2.4 million on equipment purchases, up $220,000 and
Ӣ $2.1 million on other supplies, up $100,000.
Add to that the $28,000 it spent for catered graduation day ceremonies and other campus events on the school calendar, and Fairfield University”™s impact on the Bridgeport area economy becomes clear.
While Fairfield University enrollment fell 1 percent for the 2007 school year, other Fairfield County institutions were in growth mode during their most recent admissions cycle. Gibbs College in Norwalk, which grants two-year associate”™s degrees, enrolled an additional 150 students, a 20 percent year-over-year growth rate that was the fastest of any college with more than 100 students.
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The University of Bridgeport was just behind, adding more than 700 students for an 18 percent growth rate.
Western Connecticut State University in Danbury was the lone CSU campus to notch an increase in enrollment at 2.1 percent.
As much as population, an argument can be made that collegiate enrollment is pegged to the economy. Following the economic recessions and stock market drops of 1981, 1990 and 2001, enrollment growth dropped sharply in Connecticut. In fact, in 1999 Connecticut”™s collegiate student population was lower than in 1980, despite a 9 percent increase in Connecticut”™s population during the period.
As parental salaries, stocks and home values have appreciated this decade, however, colleges and universities have increased enrollment 9 percent, compared with a 3 percent increase in the total population.
With home sales down, a yo-yoing stock market, and uncertainty on the timing for any future recession, it is anyone”™s guess how many of those graduating high school students will be able to afford college ”“ whether or not the state is able to increase the number who qualify.
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