GSU President Elaine Maimon Discusses Loss of Human Capital on WBEZ

In a Dec. 17 interview with WBEZ, GSU President Elaine Maimon warns that Illinois public institutions are facing a trend that threatens to erode the state’s middle class.

According to a special report on Illinois higher education, nearly 10 percent of students who had been accepted to public colleges and universities in 2017 did not enroll, opting out of community college, private school and out-of-state schools. At GSU, that number nearly tripled over a three-year period.

Although accepted, students chose not to attend school anywhere because of financial concerns or fear of the unknown, the report said.

“These are qualified students,’’ Dr. Maimon said. “It’s a loss in human capital—we already have a shrinking middle class, and when these students go nowhere, the middle class is going to shrink even more…. This is absolutely an issue the state and nation needs to pay attention to.”

Listen to Dr. Maimon’s full interview here.