The state’s public colleges and universities system experienced a larger-than-expected enrollment decline this fall, mirroring a national trend as the higher-education industry faces steep competition and a shrinking customer base.

The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system says overall headcount -- which includes part-time students-- at its four state universities, 12 community colleges and online Charter Oak State College shrank 3.8 percent this fall. The number of full-time equivalent students fell by 3.7 percent.

Community colleges saw the biggest decline losing 4.2 percent of their student population. There are 45,905 pupils enrolled in community colleges. Manchester, Three Rivers and Housatanic community colleges saw the steepest enrollment declines of 8.6 percent, 7 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively.

The state universities -- Central Connecticut, Eastern, Western and Southern -- saw their collective headcounts decline 3.5 percent, while Charter Oak State College saw a 1 percent jump in enrollment.

CSCU’s Board of Regents is scheduled to discuss declining enrollment at their Thursday meeting.

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In an email, CSCU spokesman Leigh Appleby said the enrollment decline is in line with national trends, which project a downward trend in college admissions over the next several years. He also said higher education is increasingly trending toward adult learners.

“To that end, we are taking proactive steps to make our colleges more welcoming to working adults,” Appleby said. “At the same time, this underscores the urgent need to continue moving toward Students First, which will increase student success and retention, and save administrative costs while maintaining access to all of our current institutions.”

Students First is CSCU President Mark Ojakian’s consolidation plan that aims to save the state college system tens of millions of dollars annually by merging the 12 community colleges into one state college. That plan has faced opposition, but CSCU has been facing fiscal difficulties in recent years, that are being exacerbated by declining enrollments.

Data from the Student Clearinghouse released in spring 2019, show nationwide postsecondary enrollments decreased 1.7 percent from the previous spring . A May report by Bloomberg predicts a college enrollment “bust” by 2026.

[HBJ Special Feature: Exploring the business of higher education]