Today, disconcertingly, there are a number of signs that the U.S. university system is in decline, even while these other attributes continue to flourish.

One measure of the health of higher education is total enrollment. As Jon Marcus recently wrote in The Hechinger Report, for the sixth straight year enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities has dropped.

In the fall of 2017, there were 2.6 million fewer students enrolled in higher-education programs than there were in the fall of 2011. This is a worrying and precipitous decline.  Another measure of the health of U.S. higher education is the quality of colleges and universities, which are measured by various ranking systems.

There are many factors contributing to this educational decline in the United States but perhaps the most important of them is student preparedness. According to Joseph Fuller, a Harvard Business School professor, our students’ literacy and numerical skills have declined over the last two decades.

So what other factors are at work in this educational demise? U.S. college students and their families contend with two major, interrelated challenges that are well known: affordability and access. Increasing tuition costs, decreasing state budget support and rising student debt are reducing the attractiveness of a college education in the U.S. But there are other factors as well, including a growing concern about access to higher education.

However, there is hope for the future of higher education. Philanthropic foundations and private industry are supporting their neighborhood schools and colleges. The U.S. is still the world leader in philanthropy, and its “can-do” philosophy remains unmatched. These may well be the critical attributes that help turn the tide.

Read the full article about higher education in decline by David Steele-Figueredo at The Hechinger Report.