BOSTON – An increase in Latino students and students over the age of 24 helped drive recent increases in enrollment at many public higher education campuses in Massachusetts, according to a summary of an analysis released yesterday by the Department of Higher Education.
Between 2008 and 2011, new enrollment by students 25 and older increased by 21 percent compared to 6 percent for students below the age of 25. Over the same period, new Latino student enrollment at public colleges and universities in Massachusetts increased by 50 percent.
The surges among those two groups of students helped keep enrollment growing at many campuses despite a slowly declining high school population in Massachusetts, according to the summary. The department reported that UMass Lowell led the five UMass campuses in undergraduate enrollment growth over the past three years.
Framingham State University registered the highest enrollment growth in the state university system and Bunker Hill led in enrollment growth at the community college level. Undergraduate enrollment across the public higher education system in Massachusetts is up 23 percent over the last ten years, but growth has slowed recently.
