Higher Ed: As the Bubble Bursts

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the last two years have seen a substantive decrease (930,000) in the number of college enrollments nationally. Aside from the rebounding economy -- when jobs are scarce, some high-school grads and adult students see college as a more attractive option -- at least two factors account for this decline: the decrease in the number of entering-college-age students in the overall population, and the rising cost of college tuition (and, with it, student-loan debt). As enrollments fall, so does the viability of a large number of colleges and universities, which live or die largely on enrollment numbers from year to year. Amid all this bad news -- or rather, in response to it -- higher-education reformers may find their leverage enhanced.