Lane Kenworthy, The Good Society
June 2019

NUMBER OF COLLEGE STUDENTS

About two-thirds of a typical cohort of Americans now gets some postsecondary education. The number of college students has been rising steadily for at least half a century, though the 2008-09 economic crisis has altered, or interrupted, this trend.

Far more attend public colleges than private ones. And public institutions have absorbed the largest share of the increase over time.

Figure A1. College students by type of institution
Number of students attending an accredited college or university in the US. Includes two-year and four-year colleges. “m” = million. Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, table 303.10.

About twice as many Americans attend four-year colleges as two-year ones, and since the turn of the century the attendance rate has risen more rapidly at four-years.

Figure A1. College students by type of program
Number of students attending an accredited college or university in the US. Includes public and private colleges. “m” = million. Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, table 303.25.

NUMBER OF COLLEGES

The closing of a college tends to get a great deal of media attention, but the number of four-year colleges and universities in the United States has increased over the past generation, even if we set aside the rapid rise of for-profit colleges.

Figure A3. Four-year colleges
Number of four-year colleges in the US. Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, table 717.10.

COLLEGE ADMISSION RATES

Many high school seniors about getting admitted to a good college. While much of the popular discussion focuses on the most selective colleges and universities, which have admission rates below 15% or even 10%, very few Americans attend such schools. More than half of college students attend a school with an admission rate above 60%. More than three-quarters attend a college with an admission rate above 40%.

Figure A4. Distribution of students by college’s admission rate
Share of college students. Four-year colleges. Data source: Robert B. Archibald and David H. Feldman, The Road Ahead for America’s Colleges and Universities, Oxford University Press, 2017, figure 2.5, using Delta Cost Project data.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM?

In earlier eras, the bulk of funds for public universities were provided by state governments. This has changed significantly over the past half century. Most students in public four-year colleges attend one in which the state government provides between 20% and 40% of the college’s revenues.

Figure A5. Distribution of students by state government’s funding share
Share of college students. The horizontal axis refers to the share of a college’s revenues that come from the state’s government. Public four-year colleges. Data source: Robert B. Archibald and David H. Feldman, The Road Ahead for America’s Colleges and Universities, Oxford University Press, 2017, figure 2.8.

A small but growing share of students attend a public college where the state provides less than 20%, or even less than 10%, of revenues. At my employer, the University of California-San Diego, the share is just 7%. The sources of UC San Diego’s revenue (as of 2015-16) are Medical Center 36%, grants and contracts 21%, tuition and fees 14%, educational activities (such as the School of Medicine) 12%, state government 7%, auxiliary enterprises (student housing, food service, parking, bookstore) 4%, private gifts 2%, and other miscellaneous revenues 4%.