Enrollment Projections: The Case Against Generalizations

Abstract:Generalizations from research that uses heterogeneous samples of colleges and universities can be misleading. This study examines the impact of several environmental and institutional factors on college and university enrollments between 1975–76 and 1980–81. They made separate enrollment analyses of public and private two- and four-year institutions, and of the major doctoral, comprehensive, and baccalaureate institutions of four-year schools. They found that the effects of environmental and institutional factors varied, depending on the institutional type and control.