National Enrollment Gender Gap a Trend at FIU
The gender gap in college enrollment is growing stronger nationwide, and it’s happening at Florida International University as well.
According to The Hechinger Report, the proportion of men and women in college is a complete reversal from what it was fifty years ago, with women currently making up around 60% of enrollment and men making up about 40%.
The article also points out that the pandemic increased this gap. Although enrollment fell overall, men’s enrollment fell far more sharply than women’s.
FIU’s Fact Book on student demographics and information on applications, admissions and enrollment shows a similar trend.
From 2017 to 2021, the difference between gender enrollment each fall was consistently about 2,000 students.
Further, male enrollment decreased in 2020 (from 4,178 students in 2019 to 3,895 in 2020), while female enrollment actually went up (from 5,781 in 2019 to 5,816 in 2020).
A study from the Pew Research Center shows that at least when it comes to college completion, there are a few factors that commonly appear.
The most common reasons between men and women are needing to work to support family, not expecting to be admitted to a four-year university, or just not considering earning a bachelor’s degree.
However, men are more likely than women to not finish a four-year degree because they simply don’t want to or because their careers don’t require the extra education. Women are more likely to cite financial constraints as an issue than men.
Currently, there are less than 1,500 students enrolled for the coming fall semester, but women still make up the majority at FIU.
