Nationwide decline in undergraduates, yet college resources are still available. Here's what you need to know

The number of undergraduates nationwide is down 9.4%, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. This is nearly 1.4 million students smaller than before the pandemic.

Public institution rates also declined this spring, losing approximately 604,000 students, which is a five percent decrease since last year.

Though their enrollment was steady throughout the pandemic, Elon University had to cancel all in-person admitted student programs in the fall 2020 semester, according to Greg Zaiser, the vice president for enrollment at the university.

A year later, the university was able to re-open things "on a much smaller scale," which Zaiser said helped, along with other virtual initiatives to help keep students engaged.

"But there is no substitution for the in-person experience," Zaiser added. He also said that Elon saw an increase of transfer students in fall 2021 after more students "decided to stay closer to home" in fall 2020.

However, due to the return of more "typical" recruitment processes, Zaiser said that Elon's fall 2022 enrollment numbers will reflect the largest incoming class that Elon has seen. Elon University has projected 1,745 first-year students in the coming Fall, according to Zaiser's data.

Elon has been the recipient of both federal and state funds to help students affected by the pandemic, and the school provided an additional million dollars in funds to support students with demonstrated financial need. Zaiser stated that the school also offered low-interest institutional loans to address needs.

Aside from resources provided by Elon for incoming college students, the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) has established measures with the intent to increase college enrollment for the upcoming academic year.

The CFNC provides a free service for the state of North Carolina that offers planning tools, timelines, test prep resources, financial literacy guidance, and more.

The non-profit organization, CFNC sponsored the "Small Steps Big Outcomes" campaign, which is a statewide initiative in North Carolina designed to encourage high school seniors to apply to college. The campaign includes several resources and provides a college enrollment step-by-step guide that consists of eight steps, which students can utilize to navigate through the process.

The "Small Steps Big Outcomes" campaign initiative includes a social media contest that celebrates College Decision Day for students accepted and provides winners of the contest with money for books.

Students who applied this year had to share a reaction on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok to their college acceptance with the caption #IGotAcceptedCFNC, tag the organization, as well as like a post announcing the giveaway, and follow the page on whatever social media forum posted on.

"We also want to make sure that we're commending those students that already made a decision," said Takeila Barnes Hall, a representative of the College Foundation of North Carolina. The 3 winners picked from the contest will receive $750 for books.

According to Hall, the CFNC are "always doing different things throughout the state." The organization has a team of regional representatives that cover the whole state of North Carolina, and they have different events across the state such as workshops and presentations to educate the masses about college enrollment.

The CFNC also allows students to research scholarships that they may qualify for through their website. "We do have a robust scholarship search," Hall added. This informational resource helps students to filter through several different scholarships with varying qualifications such as financial need, academic performance, as well as specialized scholarships for students with talents in specific subject areas. The CFNC website can be found at https://www.cfnc.org.

"There are lots of different ways that students can go to college nowadays," according to Hall. Students can choose between large universities, small universities, or even community colleges to continue their education. Students can research colleges through the CFNC website, as well as examine different degree programs and fields of study.

Students are even able to apply to colleges through the site, and submit their transcripts. Hall also wanted to emphasize the fact that "if seniors still want to go to school in the fall, there's still time."

North Carolina prospective students who are interested in attending community college can apply for the Longleaf Community Grant. This grant program allows students to attend any community college in North Carolina for free.

There's no deadline to apply and awards are guaranteed, according to the CFNC website. However, applicants must meet certain requirements.

Barnes stated that some of the requirements are that the student must be accepted into an NC community college, have graduated from a North Carolina high school, and must be a first-time college student. The award offer varies from $700 to $2,800, depending on the financial need for full-time enrollment.

As a result, North Carolina students can receive two years of education for free through this grant.

This article originally appeared on Times-News: College Foundation of North Carolina fights against undergraduate decline