Education
Surging College Costs Push Students to Vocational Programs
Enrollment at community colleges rose 2.6% in 2023, outpacing small increases at public and private four-year schools.
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The growing debate over college costs in the US is pushing more students to community colleges, with schools that offer vocational programs seeing a big bump in enrollment.
After steep declines in the pandemic, enrollment at community colleges rose 2.6% in 2023 compared with a year earlier, fueled by a 16% surge at two-year schools with a “high vocational program focus,” according to the data from the National Student Clearinghouse.