In Johnson County schools, the demand for classes in career and technical education is pushing new limits, and students, by greater numbers each year, are choosing alternatives to college after graduating high school. At three of four Johnson County high schools that track data on graduating seniors, the percentage of students going straight from high school to a two-year or four-year degree program decreased.

The most recent Indiana College Readiness Report shows 53% of high school graduates went straight to college in 2020, a 6% decline compared to 2019 and a 10% decline compared to 2017. The decrease is also seen across the country. From Spring 2021 to Spring 2022, U.S. colleges saw a decrease in enrollment of 4.7%, according to data from the U.S. News and World Report.

There are several factors contributing to that decrease at Whiteland Community High School, said Benji Betts, the high school’s principal. The Whiteland college-going rate has dropped from 69% of students in the Class of 2020 to 63% this year.

“The biggest thing we’re seeing amongst high schools in general are kids are really trying to figure out if college is the right path or if it’s getting a job or a trade. Kids are analyzing ‘what’s better for me,’” Betts said. “You’ve had increasing college tuition prices and increased pay in skilled trades and demand from companies with those jobs. Kids are deciding ‘the career I want to be part of doesn’t need a two or four-year degree.’”

Greenwood Community High School started tracking data for graduating seniors in 2020, when 71% of students opted to go to a four-year or two-year degree program. Two years later, that has dropped to 66%.

Indian Creek High School has followed the same trend. In 2017, 63% of seniors went into a degree program after school. Five years later, that figure has dropped to 53%, said Luke Skobel, the school’s principal.

At Edinburgh Community High School, there has been a simultaneous increase in students going to college and enrolling in trade education while in high school, Ron Ross, Edinburgh’s superintendent, said in an email. During the 2021-22 school year, 56% of juniors and seniors attended classes at C4 Columbus Area Career Connection, which is up 6% from five years prior, even though there was a 3% increase in students going on to college during that time.

Franklin and Center Grove high schools don’t keep track of graduate statistics, school district spokespeople said. At Franklin, guidance counselor Brian Powers has not noticed a change in college-going rates among the students he counsels during the three years he’s been at the school but said he wouldn’t be surprised if there is a general decline in college enrollment among high school seniors.

“I think kids are going to start taking different approaches as far as attending college or see if they really need a degree to do this or if they really need to spend this much money to get a degree when they can get more on-the-job training,” Powers said. “The student loan crisis is real in this nation and I think people are getting wiser to the fact of not wanting to take on a ton of debt when they go to college.”

The college-going trend is not the only thing that is contributing to a shift to trade education. The Indiana Department of Education also implemented its graduation pathways program in 2019, which has created more ways for students to attain their diplomas. Under graduation pathways, students are required to fulfill credit requirements in core subjects such as math, science and social studies, and must also complete a project-based, service-based or work-based experience meant to demonstrate employability skills.

Both the trend and the state’s graduation pathways requirement has contributed to an increase in demand at Central Nine programs. A $4 million renovation underway at Central Nine would double the amount of space in its welding program. The Career Center serves about 1,200 students from high schools in Johnson and Marion counties, said William Kovach, executive director. Some of Central Nine’s most popular classes include welding, construction trades and dental careers, he said.

High schools have begun to increase in-house career programming as seats at Central Nine have run out. For example, career and technical education programs at Greenwood’s high school now include business, family consumer science and construction, said Lisa Laug, guidance, college and career director for Greenwood schools.

“The labor market has jobs out there that pay well and I think that’s tempting for students,” Laug said. “The rising cost of college is always a concern and I think, as a society, we’re pushing more fiscal responsibility for students. Vocational programs or programs training students to do a job as a form of transition makes sense for a student’s bottom line.”

With pandemic-influenced wage increases in trades, warehousing and even restaurant and retail careers, students have options to make a living wage after high school. For educators, the hope is to see graduates leave high school with a road map they can follow to the career they want.

“I do think the changes we’ve made in education as far as career pathways have kids thinking more and more about what they want to do,” Skobel said. “It’s probably a good thing, honestly. There’s a lot that has been done with making sure kids know just going to college is not the answer; having a plan is the answer.”

How many high school seniors are opting to go to college? 

Whiteland 

Class of 2017: 68%

Class of 2022: 63%

Greenwood

Class of 2020*: 71%

Class of 2022: 66%

Edinburgh  

Class of 2017: 49%

Class of 2022: 53%

Indian Creek  

Class of 2017: 63%

Class of 2022: 53%

*Did not track data for 2017

Center Grove High School and Franklin Community High School did not track data for graduating seniors.