Surviving Peak Higher Ed with Bryan Alexander
From Intentional Teaching, a show about teaching in higher education by Derek Bruff
May 5, 2026 · 47 min · Episode 89
About this episode
This episode discusses the decline in US higher education enrollment since its peak in 2011 and its implications.
Share your thoughts about this episode as a text message. The total number of students enrolled in US higher education institutions grew steadily in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. However that total peaked in 2011 at around 18 million students. It’s been declining ever since. You can imagine some of what that means—fewer students means less tuition, which means fewer faculty and staff and the closure of colleges and universities. US higher ed has been on the downhill across multiple measures...
People in this episode
Host: Derek Bruff
Guest: Bryan Alexander
Topics covered
- higher education
- enrollment decline
- tuition
- faculty reduction
- college closures
Keywords
- higher education
- enrollment
- tuition
- faculty
- colleges
- universities
- decline
Mentioned in this episode
Places: US
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