Dive Brief:
- A new report says private universities in metropolitan areas are growing at a faster rate than peer institutions in rural or suburban settings.
- Moody’s Investors Service says enrollment has increased 34% over the last 15 years at urban private schools, more than 10% above the national average for all private institutions.
- The credit agency attributes the growth to the appeal of urban living and the presence of increased professional opportunities.
Dive Insight:
A recent Forbes analysis shows that seventy percent of millennials live in less densely populated areas, a sharp contrast to standard social theory about youth preferences for city living and accessible public transit systems.
Given the imperative for colleges to increase the production of qualified members of a resurging workforce, schools which can directly work with government or private entities to produce talent in fields like transportation, mass communications, science and engineering research and civil service will be positioned for stronger outcomes in enrollment, grant making and funding from state and federal resources.
For universities operating outside of metropolitan areas, institutional synergy in agriculture, secondary education, public health and social work are ideal pairings to enhance growth. Industrial connections are especially critical for smaller institutions struggling to grow enrollment and schools looking to modernize curriculum to expand the value of their degrees.
A number of factors influence college success, but geography does not have to be one of them, if schools can learn how to drive local economies.