Dr. Frank Talamantes, Ph.

D,
lactogen@MOUSEPLACENTA.COM
Professor of Endocrinology (Emeritus)
University of California
Santa Cruz, California, 95064
Residence: 83 Sierra Crest Dr.
El Paso, Texas 79902

August 24, 2015

College Enrollment as a Statewide Snapshot

Meador Family Photo

Family tradition can be important in choosing a college. The Meador family boasts four
generations of alumni of the U. of Southern Mississippi.

Staying Close or Straying Far

Throughout the nation, the percentage of high-school seniors who choose to pursue
higher education in their home states can reveal a lot about the culture and qualities
of that region.

In New England, New Hampshire retains 54 percent of its high-school seniors, the
third-lowest rate in the country, behind only Vermont and the District of Columbia.
Robert McGann, director of admissions at the University of New Hampshire,
attributes the low rate to factors including geography, culture, and economics.

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"Theres a strong tradition in the New England states for students to be looking at
private education in a way that you dont see in Midwestern, Western, and
Southern states," Mr. McGann said. That interest draws many of them to out-ofstate private colleges. The same holds true of most other states in the region:
Vermont (which retains 49 percent of its high-school seniors), Connecticut (55
percent) and Rhode Island (66 percent). Their small size also means that out of
state isnt far away.

New Hampshires per-capita income one of the highest in the nation is

another influential factor. Many students can afford to look beyond public
institutions that offer relatively cheap in-state tuition.
On the other end of the spectrum is Mississippi, the state that has the highest
retention rate, with 93 percent of freshmen having opted to stay in-state for college.
Susan Scott, interim director of admissions at the University of Southern
Mississippi, says that Mississippians and she is one of them value staying
near home.
"Mississippi is a place where being close to family is still a very powerful social
construct," said Ms. Scott. "People prefer to stay close to a support system." And
Mississippi's average in-state rate for tuition and fees, the 10th-lowest in the
country, keeps that choice within reach.
Mississippi also has the lowest per-capita income in the nation, $20,156 in 2013,
and paying out-of-state tuition to go to another state may not be an option for many
families.
The region is also known for having a powerful sense of tradition, and many
students want to enroll at the same institution that their parents or grandparents
attended. Ms. Scott says that feeling is common throughout Southern states, at
places like the University of Mississippi, the University of Alabama, and Texas
A&M University, all in the Southeastern Conference. Ariana Giorgi

Keeping Up With Diversity

Some states do well in attracting to their colleges a student body that comes close
to mirroring the diversity of the state.
In Texas, for instance, enrollment of African-Americans, at 13 percent, slightly
exceeds their 12-percent share of the state population. That rate can be credited in

part to Texas nine historically black colleges and universities, which enroll 9
percent of the black college students in the state. But the greatest share of AfricanAmerican students in Texas more than half are enrolled at two-year public
institutions.
The state does not appear to do as well at enrolling a proportionate share of
Hispanics, who make up 38 percent of Texas population but only 33 percent of
college enrollment.
West Virginia, Minnesota, and Iowa are among the states that appear to enroll a
slightly higher percentage of black students than the black share of the state
population. States that fall short in enrolling blacks, compared with their
representation among residents, include New York, Louisiana, and Maryland. The
District of Columbia does an especially poor job, with a population that is 49
percent black and college enrollment that is only 25 percent black.
Making precise comparisons between population data, which is from the U.S.
Census Bureau, and college-enrollment data, from the U.S. Department of
Education, is impossible because of differences in the ways the two agencies
consider race and ethnicity. For instance, the Census Bureau, in its American
Community Survey, double-counts Hispanics, first in whatever racial group they
belong to for example, white or black and then by ethnicity. The Education
Department does not double-count: Its race categories exclude persons of Hispanic
ethnicity.
A further complication is that enrollment figures in some states like Arizona,
home to the University of Phoenix include large numbers of out-of-state
students who study online.
Jeffery L. Wilson, an associate professor of leadership at the University of
Memphis who studies diversity at colleges, said institutions need to think about
how they define diversity and how well they are preparing students for tomorrows

diverse work force. "Diversity is more than just filling in a check box on a sheet of
paper," he said.
In states with high diversity rates, the larger colleges tend to have chief diversity
officers and central mission statements describing what diversity should look like
on their campuses, said Mr. Wilson. Those statements go beyond considering race
and ethnicity to look at factors like socioeconomic diversity and inclusion of
students with disabilities and those with different life experiences. In that way, he
said, the colleges can work to establish an environment in which all students feel
welcome.
Sandhya Kambhampati

Mostly a Public Endeavor

While public higher education plays an important role in every state, in a few
sparsely populated states, it comes close to being the only alternative for students
who prefer to study on a campus relatively close to home.
Ninety-six percent of college students enrolled in Wyoming attend a public
institution. Shelley Dodd, director of admissions at the University of Wyoming
the states sole four-year public university said the absence of private nonprofit
institutions in the state can be attributed to its low population density. Wyoming
has fewer than six people per square mile, compared with a national population
density of about 87 per square mile.
Together with seven public community colleges throughout the state, Ms. Dodd
said, the university meets Wyoming students needs for access to higher education.
In contrast to Wyoming, two states, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, along with
the District of Columbia, enroll more students in private institutions than in public
ones. Only 44 percent of students in Massachusetts attend public institutions, and
there are three times as many private institutions as public ones.

James Roche, associate provost for enrollment management at the University of

Massachusetts at Amherst, said there is a rich tradition of higher education in the
Northeast that laid the groundwork early for many private institutions.
Competition between public and private institutions to attract students takes place
on many levels, he said.
"Some of the private institutions that have much smaller enrollments than we do
but have much bigger endowments can offer not only need-based aid but also
merit-based aid," he said, to bring students costs down substantially. Ariana
Giorg
i

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