Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Enrollment at public universities and colleges in Ohio is up 3.43% this fall compared to last year, a significant increase, but still remains well below pre-pandemic attendance, state data show.
Between fall of 2019 and fall of 2023, statewide public higher education enrollment fell by more than 60,000 students. Overall public university college enrollment in 2019 was 492,424 and fell to 429,310 students in fall 2023 and rose to 444,014 students this year, according to the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Community colleges in the state are seeing the largest increase in enrollment, with some in this region, such as Clark State College, as high as 15%.
Cassie Barlow, president of the Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE), said there’s a growing need for workers with some sort of post-secondary education. Career tech expansion, along with the higher education enrollment, will help with that, she said.
“Our employers, I believe, are being very clear about what they need in terms of trained workforce,” she said. “Our higher education institutions, both at the two-year and four-year level, are really stepping up to the plate when it comes to getting the employers the trained workforce that they need.”
Whether that’s in upskilling existing workers, training new workers or providing a variety of classes and degrees, all of those contribute to helping employers get the skilled workers they need, Barlow said.
