Pa. universities project 2nd year of enrollment decline

Pa. universities project 2nd year of enrollment decline

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pennsylvania’s university system is expecting a second consecutive year of declining enrollment after more than a dozen years of gains.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the State System of Higher Education projects a slight decline of 1,500 students over its 14 member schools. It’s the second straight year enrollment has declined after 14 years of increases. Not all the schools are expecting a decrease.

A spokesman for the schools says a decrease isn’t unexpected given a decline in the number of graduating high school seniors in the state. Ken Marshall says about 89 percent of the state system’s students come from Pennsylvania, which saw about 5,000 fewer high schoolers graduate last spring.