Declining enrollment at CSU campuses
 

Definitely will have implications with Greek life recruitment.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/college-st...ity-system.amp

A lot of people don’t want the accumulated debt. Back in the day, most college degrees would get graduates a livable income. That’s not the way things are now. You get college debt your income can’t or struggles to pay back.

This is especially true in California. Universities have become expensive due to competing to be bigger, better and flashier than the next. Fancy fitness centers, gourmet dining halls, premium facilities. That cost is passed on to the students. Plus, the costs of education went up when the universities realized that the students would just get bigger and bigger government loans.

Also, in recent years, California has been pushing for community college attendance. The state even moved to have community colleges start offering 4-year bachelor's degrees. So, the state kinda shot itself in the foot with that. Now students realize they can stay home, for less tuition, and get a degree without going to the expensive universities.

For Sonoma State U, the Collegiate Panhellenic total was 129 in Fall 2018. The total from Fall 2023 is 46. Most chapters have a large portion of upperclassmen, as there are many transfer students at the school. I also have noticed the last couple years that the NPC groups are definitely "whiter" than in the past. I guess that the non-white women don't want to join the NPC chapters. (There are two local sororities, and I have no clue as to their size nor their populations.)

yep, the outlook is not good.

For Sonoma State U, the Collegiate Panhellenic total was 129 in Fall 2018. The total from Fall 2023 is 46. Most chapters have a large portion of upperclassmen, as there are many transfer students at the school. I also have noticed the last couple years that the NPC groups are definitely "whiter" than in the past. I guess that the non-white women don't want to join the NPC chapters. (There are two local sororities, and I have no clue as to their size nor their populations.)

yep, the outlook is not good.

Holy cow that's a steep drop. There was a discussion about this in the colonies thread with overall college enrollment dropping and how this would affect greek org numbers.

Well, let's be clear here - Sonoma State University has far more White students to start with.


SONOMA STATE STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS:


https://i.ibb.co/B3DyCwC/Sonoma.png



CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS:


https://i.ibb.co/zbZHmTX/CSUDH.png



CAL STATE LONG BEACH STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS:


https://i.ibb.co/Y02g8Qb/Long-Beach.png

One more. Those not familiar with San Jose State:

Asian

36.1%

Hispanic

28.2%

White

14.1%

Non-resident Alien

9.7%

Two or More Races

4.7%

Unknown

3.4%

Black

3.3%

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

0.4%

American Indian or Alaskan Native

.01%

I do wonder if the rise in non white students will lead to more students joining cultural based organizations rather than the traditional NPC/IFC organizations.

I doubt it. I think students will gravitate to which organizations tie in more with their backgrounds. Plus, within the next 20 years or so, I don’t think any ethnic group will be the majority in this country. Two thirds of the world’s countries are already composed of a majority of people of color. Eventually, this country will be like the rest of the world, based on the way things are playing out. Because of that, I think students will base their glo choices on their upbringing or backgrounds.

I can speak to this right now as we’re living it in our house. My eldest graduated from SDSU in ‘17 and my middle from Chico State in ‘19 (she was Greek my eldest was not.) My youngest is an incoming junior for next fall and currently deciding which CSU to transfer to. She currently has four offers but waiting on her 1st choice, SDSU. She decided while still in high school that she didn’t want to graduate with the student loan depr he older sisters have, so was happy to enroll in our local CC. The other major factor: the first two years at CCs in CA are free. This wasn’t the case when my older two were her age. So my youngest will (hopefully) graduate with a lot less debt. Another factor I think with the lower enrollments, besides the cost, is that it’s much more difficult to get into many of the CSUs now. SDSU had a 4.1 gpa average for incoming freshman this fall. My eldest got in with a 3.7. She probably wouldn’t get in now with that, especially since they’re no longer taking standardized testing into account. She did well on her SATs which basically got her in. Though GPA doesn’t seem to be such a factor as many of my youngest’s friends had well over 4.0s and opted for CC first as well. Many of them will be transferring to UC schools too. I also think Covid played into it too, obviously. This all said, though I’d love my youngest go through recruitment as a junior, which I did and loved my sorority time, she says she has no interest. That ship has sailed. She just wants to focus on school and work and internships. I imagine a lot of kids her age are feeling the same way. Maybe she’ll change her mind after she gets on campus somewhere. It’s something the the CSUs and the Greek organizations in general might want to take into account for their recruiting strategies. The changing demographics of the campuses. Maybe gear more to older students.

Some of state system schools in PA had a merger. Here is an article that explains it better than I can:

https://www.highereddive.com/news/pe...into-2/603330/


The tuition hikes are pricing out the people these institutions were designed to sever, which is kind of underhanded when you think about it. They were created to give people the opportunity to earn a college education and to, hopefully, achieve upward mobility. They have faced funding cuts from the state, which don’t really leave them much of a choice in raising their tuition…but it’s still sad to see such a strong system struggling.

Anecdotal experience, I know, but my nephew was accepted at several state schools and not offered any meaningful scholarship money (despite really stellar grades and accomplishments). He applied (at the suggestion of a certain wise aunt, might I point out) to some private schools with great scholarship programs…and got almost a full ride to a wonderful private university. Kids aren’t being incentivized to go to state schools if the cost of attendance far outweighs private schools if scholarship opportunities are factored in. He also had smaller class sizes and way more opportunities for internships and meaningful college work because he stayed in the city.

At the school I attended, the Greek system is doing well (comparatively, for a school its size in the northeast). They went through a period of downturn maybe 15 years ago, but the system is as strong as it was when I was in school. However, it’s not one of the schools involved in the merger and doesn’t seem to have the same drop in attendance. My personal belief is this school made some strategic decisions to focus on programs that weren’t offered elsewhere, thus still bringing in the numbers despite a generational drop in college enrollment.

What is the current NPC wisdom regarding NPC chapters colonizing at Community Colleges? I recall a few NPC groups voting "yes" on statements that would allow consideration of colonies @CC's should the full NPC allow same.

I can anecdotally back up your anecdote! My cousin has 4 kids- 2 college grads, one in college (all non-Greek, ha ha) and one college-bound, and she said her middle two had the same experience with being offered a better financial deal from the private university they attended/are attending than the public ones they applied to.

My cousin (from a Penn State obsessed family, as you will find in this neck of the woods) turned down Penn State to go to Westminster (PA), as Westminster gave her practically a free ride and Penn State didn't give her squat.

Re the PA state schools, it hasn't only been the ridiculous building sprees resulting in ridiculous tuition increases, it's also been a diluting of the schools' individuality and unique offerings. It used to be that certain schools were the only ones to offer certain things or be known as good for them. Clarion - library science, Lock Haven - phys ed, IUP - criminology, etc etc. I always thought this was a state enforced thing, but apparently it was just a gentleman's agreement, and gentlemen don't exist anymore. I went to a Clarion alumni thing where they were crowing about the new criminology major, and was just like, why are we doing this? Meanwhile, our communications program, one of the best on the eastern seaboard, had been decimated beyond recognition.

And now Joshie apparently wants to merge all the state schools and community colleges together. 🤬🤬 I give up.