Women on the rise in higher education
Though it is difficult to be sure of the cause, women constitute
the majority in university enrollment across the nation.
“Women have historically been graduating at four-year rates more
so than males,” said Brigitte Schmidt, a statistical analyst at the
Office of Budgets and Institutional Analysis.
Some people have only been able to speculate as to why this
seems to be a recent trend.
“We all see something happening, but I don’t think anyone has a
finger on why that’s happening,” said Keith Ickes, associate vice
president for Administrative Services and director of OBIA.
The ratio of males to females at CSU has fluctuated somewhat
over the past several years.
In the 1995-1996 school year at CSU, the university male
enrollment was 50.2 percent, and the female enrollment was at 49.8
percent, according to the OBIA Web site.
The lowest point for male enrollment was 2001-2002, with males
at 47.5 percent and females at 52.5 percent.
Recently, the percentages are starting to even back out, but
females still lead in enrollment. The 2003-2004 fall semester
enrollment was males at 48.7 percent and females at 51.3
percent.
The new recognition of this occurrence in statistics does not
apply to any specific university or college, however.
“There’s a national question, it’s not just Colorado State,”
Ickes said. “It’s simply a national matter that women are attending
higher-level education and graduating faster than men.”
Another interesting statistic is that 75 percent of veterinary
medicine students are women, Ickes said.
This increase in female enrollment and graduation could
potentially affect the role that men will have in the future, he
said.
“I don’t know that there’s any downside … men will have a
lesser role in industries in the future,” Ickes said.
Others have attempted to theorize as to the reason why this
trend is becoming more visible.
“Males might be in majors that take longer to graduate,” Schmidt
said in reference to the higher graduation rates of females than
males.
Senior Brandy Nagamine does not see this statistical difference
as a negative change. She said women earn more respect for
themselves by completing higher-level education, and men learn to
respect women for it.
“I think the reason why more females are enrolling is because
there’s more of a push on education now,” said Nagamine, an animal
science major. “I think that by getting a higher education you have
means to support yourself.”
Others have similar views on the reasons why more females are
enrolling in universities.
“I think…there’s such a large emphasis on boys, going back to
elementary school, to play sports, not academics,” said junior
Jeremy Dougherty, a finance major.
Dougherty believes that only recently have athletics become a
focus point for girls, where as it has been an influence on guys
for quite a while.
“I think it’s more of a societal and cultural thing for boys to
play sports. It’s easier for guys to get into hands-on careers,”
Dougherty said.
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