Over the course of the next several years, the number of high school graduates is expected to drop as the racial and ethnic diversity of college students evolves. Experts believe this shift will lead to a transformation of higher education, according to the article Population Shift Sends Universities Scrambling.
Some of the expected changes reported in the article (based on a study by Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) are a 10 percent decline in white students and a double-digit rise in primarily Hispanic minority students. Enrollment of minority students may increase to 37 percent by 2015, as opposed to 30 percent in 2004.
Because many minority students are often faced with additional barriers when it comes to opening college doors, this type of growth is a wonderful change. It will also mean looking at adjustments within our education system, both during college and prior to it. If students are going to have greater opportunities, we must give them ample preparation for the road ahead.
Additional Questions to Consider
How can we prepare students from diverse backgrounds to work and learn more effectively with each other?
How does this shift in US population reflect global trends in the workplace?
How can we prepare students as early as middle school for the changes they will experience through 2015?
With the declining number of students projected to enter college, how much more important to our economy will it be for this smaller number of students to succeed?
