Takeaways from NY comptroller’s new report on higher ed

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office is weighing in on the state of the state’s colleges and universities with a report on the challenges facing New York’s 150 private colleges and universities and 64 SUNY campuses.

The report looks at how New York higher education system stacks up against other states, with a focus on “developing human capital” and contributing to research and development.

Here are some key takeaways:

New York is facing the same challenges as all of higher ed, mainly the looming “enrollment cliff” when the national population of 18- to 24-year-olds plunges starting next year, against the growing cost of attending college and rising student debt.

As enrollment in higher education has increased nationally, New York’s market share of college students has decreased from 1 in 11 in 1970 to about 1 in 20 today. In fall 2022, New York’s institutions attracted 896,000 students, the lowest number in 15 years, the report says.

Schools that suffered the biggest enrollment drops before and during the Covid-19 pandemic are fighting financial threats today, including SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Buffalo State University, which all saw enrollment drop more than 40% in the past decade and are tightening their belts to address large deficits.

At the same time, international student enrollment is growing and reached 1 million last academic year, over 5% of total U.S. enrollment, the report says. New York is second only to California in attracting international students, with 24,500 enrolled at New York University, 19,000 at Columbia University and 7,700 at the University at Buffalo, the report says.

Collectively, New York schools also exceeded the national average in getting enrolled students to complete their degrees – 69% compared to 62%.

But the performance of individual institutes varies, with some suffering steeper enrollment declines and lower…