Participation of New High School Graduates in Higher Education

This study, a follow-up to an earlier study which found declining rates of enrollment at institutions of higher education in Minnesota, examined the specifics of this trend. Major findings indicated: (1) the 1990s have seen a serious decline in high school graduate enrollment in Minnesota colleges; (2) the decline cannot be accounted for by more students enrolling in out-of-state institutions or by delaying enrollment for a year or two after graduation; (3) nationally, participation rates remained stable during the first half of the 1990s and have increased since then; thus, Minnesota's participation rank has dropped from ninth to twenty-first place; (4) looking at individual school districts shows that over two-thirds of districts are sending a smaller proportion of graduates to college in 1996 than in 1987; (5) rural districts have had greater declines overall than urban districts; (6) although both male and female participation rates have declined, the decline is greater among females; (7) whites and Asians had both the highest participation rates and the greatest declines; (8) academically, freshmen in 1996 are performing at higher levels than their counterparts in 1987; and (8) several factors may be contributing to declining participation a strong economy, increased costs of attendance, and stricter preparation requirements. (DB)