

The Decline of the English Department - rglovejoy
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-decline-of-the-english-department/

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rwolf
While there may be a decline in admissions, this article discusses a decline
in % enrollment.

This is similar to talking about the decreasing average height of Americans:
you need to account for the change in demographics over time.

It's entirely possible that the groups who made up college enrollment in 1972
are still showing up in the same % in English departments.

I suggest that the increase in public school enrollment corresponds to college
becoming attractive/available to a wider group. I'd suggest looking at the
enrollment patterns of people who are the first in their family to attend
college--it seems like they would concentrate on the "sounds good" majors like
business more than English.

