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.