# The college enrollment cliff is here: Now what?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mpr-news-with-angela-davis-239489/the-college-enrollment-cliff-is-here-now-what
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mpr-news-with-angela-davis-239489/the-college-enrollment-cliff-is-here-now-what.md
Podcast: [MPR News with Angela Davis](https://stenobird.com/podcast/mpr-news-with-angela-davis-239489)
Published: 2026-07-20T14:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2026/07/20/the-college-enrollment-cliff-is-here-now-what
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/5/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/play.publicradio.org/podcast/o/minnesota/podcasts/angela-davis/2026/07/20/ad-college-enrollment_20260720_64.mp3?awCollectionId=apm-ADavis&awEpisodeId=01KXRCEB1ZS4Q4QHARVKYJMKZ9
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/mpr-news-with-angela-davis-239489/episodes/the-college-enrollment-cliff-is-here-now-what
Duration seconds: 2837

## Resource

America’s college campuses are entering a period of major change. The pool of traditional college-age students is shrinking, and many young people are rethinking whether college is worth the cost. MPR News guest host Kerri Miller and her guests talk about why colleges are expecting fewer students, how public and private institutions are preparing, and what’s influencing whether — and where — young people decide to pursue higher education. Guests: Nathan Grawe is a professor of economics at Carleton College and is one of the country’s leading experts on the college enrollment cliff. He is also the author of “Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education," and “The Agile College,” which helped bring national attention to the coming decline of college-age students. Suzanne Rivera is the president of Macalester College in St. Paul. She has been the president since June of 2020. Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts , Spotify or RSS . Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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## Transcript

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