For all the complaints about college costs rising which seems like no one can do anything about. I find it rare that anyone looks at the problem as a supply and demand problem. Demand from parents and students has been rising for college education. Colleges see an inelastic price curve. They raise prices and still have full enrollment. If the supply of students drop and colleges are competing for a limited supply of students, then prices should drop.
WSJ has an article on a student drought hitting smaller universities.
Student Drought Hits Smaller Universities
At Loyola, Freshman Class Size Plunges
As Loyola University New Orleans gears up for fall classes next month, the 101-year-old Jesuit University faces a crisis: There will be 25% fewer freshmen than the school had banked on.
"It was a pretty big hit," said Marc K. Manganaro, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Getting a targeted number of accepted students to commit to a college's freshman class—known as the "yield"—has become more crucial for thousands of schools.
Enrollment rates for numerous smaller and lesser-known colleges and universities are falling this year, due to a decline in the U.S. college-age population, years of rising tuition, increasing popularity of Internet courses and a weak job market for recent graduates.
There is data to show the student enrollment is declining.
After decades of growth, college enrollment nationally dropped 2.3% this spring, compared with spring 2012, according to a report released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The decline is poised to continue. The number of U.S. high-school graduates peaked at 3.4 million in 2010-2011 and is projected to fall to 3.2 million by 2013-14, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. The dip in graduates has been particularly pronounced in the Midwest and South.
I have 7 more years before my first goes to college, and I am disappointed by the possibility of college costs retreating.