[ti:US Colleges Set Enrollment Record] [ar:Jim Tedder] [al:Education Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English [00:02.91]Education Report. [00:05.00]College enrollment [00:06.91]has reached an all-time high [00:08.62]in the United States. [00:10.43]About forty percent [00:13.52]of all eighteen- [00:14.82]to twenty-four-year-olds [00:16.76]-- or almost eleven [00:18.45]and a half million [00:19.84]-- were in school [00:20.89]in October of last year. [00:22.99]A new report says [00:25.24]both numbers are record highs. [00:27.74]Richard Fry at the Pew Research Center [00:30.92]points to a number of reasons. [00:33.41]RICHARD FRY: "The number of young adults [00:35.51]that have finished high school [00:36.80]is also now at a record all-time high. [00:39.95]Almost eighty-five percent [00:41.59]of America's young adults [00:43.67]have finished high school. [00:45.18]That means they're college eligible. [00:46.81]So part of the reason college enrollments [00:48.99]are at an all-time high [00:50.14]is because the pool of youth [00:52.00]that's eligible to go to college [00:53.54]is also at an all-time high." [00:55.53]Another reason for the enrollment increase: [00:58.12]the recession. [00:59.42]The unemployment rate [01:01.47]reached a twenty-six year high [01:03.56]in October. [01:04.95]The economic downturn [01:07.04]has hit young adults especially hard. [01:10.09]Richard Fry says [01:12.23]their job-holding rate [01:14.19]is almost at the lowest point [01:16.82]in nearly fifty years. [01:19.56]In a poor job market, [01:21.85]many people turn to higher education, [01:24.94]especially at two-year colleges. [01:27.77]These schools, known as community colleges, [01:31.70]have had the greatest enrollment increase. [01:35.36]They offer professional training [01:37.99]and traditionally cost a lot less [01:40.93]than programs at four-year schools. [01:44.26]But experts say the recession [01:47.32]has not cut enrollment [01:49.22]in four-year programs, [01:51.33]even with their higher [01:53.33]-- sometimes much higher -- costs. [01:55.89]The Chronicle of Higher Education says [01:58.98]at least fifty-eight private colleges now [02:03.19]charge fifty thousand dollars or more a year. [02:07.56]Lately there have been accusations [02:11.10]that some private, [02:12.96]competitive liberal arts colleges [02:15.35]are trying to avoid being seen as "too female." [02:20.38]Critics say that as a result [02:23.03]these schools are discriminating [02:25.37]against women and admitting less qualified men. [02:29.96]In August the United States Commission [02:33.50]on Civil Rights opened an investigation. [02:37.20]Spokeswoman Lenore Ostrowsky says [02:40.16]the purpose is to identify [02:42.80]if discrimination is taking place in schools. [02:46.78]But she adds that there may be lots [02:49.98]of reasons why more women [02:52.27]apply to colleges, [02:53.82]and why colleges admit more women. [02:57.15]The Census Bureau says fifty-four percent [03:00.89]of full time students [03:02.94]at two- and four-year colleges [03:05.38]last year were female. [03:08.18]Federal law bars sex discrimination [03:11.86]at any school that receives federal money. [03:15.74]Most schools do in one way or another. [03:19.33]However, the law does not bar sex [03:22.76]discrimination in admissions [03:25.01]at private undergraduate schools, [03:27.70]only public ones. [03:29.85]The commission does not have enforcement powers, [03:33.26]but it can suggest changes in the law. [03:36.61]A report could take six months to a year. [03:41.44]And that's the VOA Special English [03:44.54]Education Report, written by June Simms. [03:48.06]Transcripts and podcasts can be found [03:51.89]at 51voa.com. I'm Jim Tedder.