Recent data already point to some slippage. From 2010 to 2021, the state’s population of residents under 20 fell by 4% but higher education saw an even larger enrollment decrease of 6.1%.
Part of the explanation is a decline nationally in confidence in higher ed. From 2015 to 2023, according to Gallup results shared during the session by Evan Horowtiz of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University, there has been a sharp drop in confidence in higher ed, a trend seen regardless of party affiliation, gender, educational attainment, or age.
Read more from the Rhode Island Current.
