Number of students enrolling in higher education post-high school looks to increase

As one chapter closes for high school seniors, another is about to begin.

“This year in our graduating class, 288 will graduate with a Hillcrest diploma,” said Ty Salsbery, the assistant principal for Hillcrest High School. “Two hundred twelve of them have committed to attending an institution of higher learning.”

In eastern Idaho, there are many options to continue on to higher education, such as the College of Eastern Idaho, Idaho State University, Brigham Young University- Idaho and more.

But are high school graduates taking advantage of these resources and continuing on in their education?

“I think the College of Eastern Idaho will make a huge difference for our students,” said Natalie Black, the college and career adviser at Idaho Falls High School.

The College of Eastern Idaho had its highest enrollment this past fall. About 1,200 students attended the first day of classes back in August 2018. That is about a 60% increase from 2017’s fall semester.

The school has big expectations for enrollment to go up for the 2019 fall semester.

“We are looking at 30, 40 or 50% growth for that number (of students enrolling),” said Lori Barber, the vice president of academic and student affairs at the College of Eastern Idaho. “We’re expecting a lot of those high school students to come to matriculate here.”

The community college also hopes that being in the area broadens recent high school grads options.

“A big misconception, I think, when the college was coming on board was that our career technical education programs would cease to exist,” Barber said. “Those career technical education programs have done nothing but grow.”

The high schools in the area say they are seeing an increase in recent graduates going on to higher education.

“I think it’s a higher (amount of students) than we had last year,” Black said.

Out of the 286 Idaho Falls High School students graduating this May, 192 have committed to a college. Nine students are entering the military, two are taking apprenticeship programs and seven are going to trade school.

School districts around the area said that influences from their college advisers, counselors and Advanced Opportunites programs at school have given students more of an initiative to go on.

“It definitely gets them thinking and talking a lot earlier,” said Sam Booth, a counselor at Compass Academy in Idaho Falls.

Counselors said that they see more students coming in as freshmen and even in middle school, asking about and planning for college.

“Not in a way to pressure them to make a decision, but just something to think about and be mindful,” Booth said.