The widening gender gap: shifting student demographics will have significant impact on college admissions

University Business, Sept, 2004 by Howard Greene, Matthew Greene

Those college administrators responsible for admitting a new crass of students each year have been aware for some time of the phenomenon we refer to as the gender shift. For the past 20 years more women than men have earned bachelor degrees, and in each successive academic year the gap is widening. In 2003, 712,000 women earned a bachelor's degree, compared to 531,000 men. More women than men received associate degrees, and 274,000 women attained master's degrees, compared to 194,000 men. Division I NCAA universities that study enrollment ratios carefully for the purpose of meeting Title IX requirements have reported a 54 percent female to 46 percent male ratio overall in their undergraduate student bodies.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG MEN GONE?

All signs point to a widening of the gender gap in future years. This past year, 56 percent of ACT and 54 percent of SAT test takers were women. Although mates continue to test higher on average on both of these admission tests, the differential has been narrowing every year. At the same time, high school females as a group are outperforming their male peers in the classroom, with disproportionate representation in the top deciles of their crass and erection to their school's National Honor Society.

The ramifications of this gender shift are significant. Given the emphasis on the part of most corteges to enhance the academic profile of their student body, more women are gaining admission as a result of their high school performance, strong curricular foundation, and test scores. There appears to be a growing pattern of more academically qualified women applying to selective four-year colleges of arts and sciences. Many of the flagship public universities now have a gender gap of 60 percent women to 40 percent men. A number of admissions deans have told us that qualified mate students are becoming a new category of students in need of affirmative action! Some universities have found that in order to balance their incoming classes they have to admit a target number of male applicants to their engineering and technology degree programs.

What does this pattern mean for college environments and, more significantly, the future leaders in the professions, business, and public sectors of our society? There are many dynamics to this demographic shift that need to be addressed by higher educational Leaders. White much is being written about women's issues on cortege campuses, there appears to be less attention given to the issues surrounding young mates. Here are some of the dynamics we find in our work which are affecting the gender shift:

* The cultural changes initiated by the women's movement a generation ago, which generated both greater expectations and opportunities, have encouraged the present generation of young women to set their sights on higher education as a pathway to independence and careers of their choosing. Young women today do not question whether they will develop a meaningful career, only which direction they will take once they have their degree.

* With the escalating goal of building the academic profile of their entering classes, colleges and universities are admitting a majority of candidates on the basis of top grade point averages, strong curriculum, class rank, and test scores. Since adolescent girls, on average, mature earlier than their mate counterparts, admissions to college will be skewed by use of these standard criteria.

* High school males are less interested in the concept of a traditional liberal arts education that emphasizes the arts, humanities, social sciences, and pure sciences, and more concerned for a vocational or career-oriented curriculum and degree. A majority of male applicants indicate a preference for concentrating in business, technology, and engineering.

* The dramatic conversion to a technological and information based economy and the related job opportunities have persuaded many young men that there is a more direct and less expensive route to a good paying job through vocational training or training on the job.

* A significantly greater proportion of students of color and Hispanic students Leave high school or college before graduating, especially males. College has not been as high a priority goat in many of their families due to few or no rote models in their ramify. The cost of attaining a cortege degree seems insurmountable to many, and Language barriers also hinder applications for cortege admission and financial aid (and sometimes decrease the chances of successful graduation). The prospect of accumulating large debts with no guarantee of a job upon completing college is a particularly daunting prospect.

* Students in socially and economically disadvantaged families are more likely to attend urban or rural schools facing the challenge of teaching at-risk students with the limitations of adequate funding, facilities, and staff. Typically only a small percentage of those who persist in graduating high school enroll in higher educational institutions.