Idaho’s public colleges and universities have lost more than 5,000 students since the pandemic.

It’s not worst-case scenario stuff. The 18-month dropoff was 8.7%, but administrators feared a 20% decrease.

By placing a premium on face-to-face learning — in the midst of a public health crisis — the Idaho schools served those students who were determined to start or continue college. Students who were willing to travel across state lines for an in-person classroom experience. Students who wouldn’t, or couldn’t, put their education on hold.

The story of Idaho higher education in 2020-21 is one of adaptation.

Boise State University administrators scrambled to move classes from lecture halls to the stands at ExtraMile Arena. Professors adjusted to move classes to an online platform, including hands-on labs that didn’t translate easily to the Zoom zone. Students adjusted to face masks, socially distanced dorms and cafeterias and frequent COVID tests — and some said they got into the habit of sleeping in, clicking on their laptops and quickly logging into an online class while wearing pajamas.

As a historic year ends, a challenge looms: reversing the 18-month enrollment decline.

Idaho’s colleges and universities are in urgent need of student tuition and fees, after decades of receiving a shriveling slice of the state budget.

The enrollment problem is a financial and economic problem, since employers need qualified workers in order to locate, expand or stay in Idaho. Perhaps most importantly, a college degree opens new career options for Idaho’s young adults — who have said no to college in the past year, and in alarming numbers.

In all, 53,391 students were enrolled this spring at Idaho’s two- and four-year schools. In fall 2019, pre-pandemic, enrollment totaled 58,454. (This number does not include dual-credit enrollment, high school students taking college-level classes through one of the institutions.)

Read the full article about the college enrollment decline in Idaho by Kevin Richert at The 74.