From an increase in the number of working-age adults who left higher education before finishing to another sudden college closure, here are the top-line figures from some of our biggest stories of the week.
By the numbers
943,000+
The number of working-age adults who reenrolled in college in the 2022-23 academic year after stopping out for at least three terms, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Despite these gains, the “some college, no credential” population continued to balloon, reaching 36.8 million adults by July 2022.
7
The number of days University of the Arts students and employees had knowledge that the campus would be permanently closing before it planned to actually shutter. On May 31, top officials shared the news of the Philadelphia private institution’s impending June 7 closure, pointing to “unanticipated expenses” and a cash shortfall.
12
The number of majors that the University of Lynchburg is cutting in order to focus more on its most popular offerings. The private Virginia university is also eliminating 25 minors and five graduate programs.
40%
The share of surveyed adults who said having a four-year degree is “not too or not at all” important to landing a well-paid job, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Conversely, a quarter of adults rated it as “very or extremely” important.
70
The number of employees Columbia College Chicago is cutting as part of a broad restructuring effort to reduce the private nonprofit’s operating deficit. The college is also eliminating 32 open positions.
