Section 5. Enrollment in Postsecondary Degree-Granting Institutions: Introduction
Total enrollment in postsecondary degree-granting institutions is expected to increase 13 percent between fall 2009, the last year of actual data, and fall 2020. Degree-granting institutions are postsecondary institutions that provide study beyond secondary school and offer programs terminating in an associate's, baccalaureate, or higher degree and participate in federal financial aid programs. Differential growth is expected by student characteristics such as age, sex, and attendance status (part-time or full-time). Enrollment is expected to increase in both public and private postsecondary degree-granting institutions.
Figure 15. Actual and projected population numbers for 18- to 24-year-olds and 25- to 29-year-olds: 1995 through 2020
NOTE: Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Projections are from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 National Population Projections, ratio-adjusted to line up with the most recent historical estimate.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Population Estimates, retrieved October 4, 2010, from http://www.census.gov/popest/national/; and Population Projections, retrieved November 2, 2009, from http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/2008projections.html. (This figure was prepared March 2011.)
Factors affecting the projections
The projections of enrollment levels are related to project¬ions of college-age populations, disposable income, and unemployment rates. For more details, see appendixes A.0 and A.5. An important factor in the enrollment projections is the expected increase in the population of 25- to 29-year-olds (table B-4 in appendix B).
Factors that were not considered
The enrollment projections do not take into account such factors as the cost of a college education, the economic value of an education, and the impact of distance learning due to technological changes. These factors may produce changes in enrollment levels. The racial/ethnic backgrounds of nonresident aliens are not known.
Accuracy of Projections
For projections of total enrollment in postsecondary degree-granting institutions, an analysis of projection errors based on the past 13 editions of
Projections of Education Statistics indicates that the mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs) for lead times of 1, 2, 5, and 10 years out were 1.6, 2.8, 5.2, and 11.4 percent, respectively. For the 1-year-out prediction, this means that one would expect the projection to be within 1.6 percent of the actual value, on average. For more information, see
table A-2, appendix A.
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