Hey, where is everybody?

The pandemic, combined with the skyrocketing number of open jobs and low unemployment rates, has left many colleges struggling to find students.

The country is down at least one million students since pre-pandemic days, with many potential students choosing the immediate rewards of decent full-time jobs over spending time on campus. It's hard to blame them.

Education is under attack from many sources, including those saying campuses "cancel" speech that doesn't meet "woke" requirements. For years, the media has focused on the debts students have accumulated and now struggle to pay off.

Pull back a bit and things may not look all that bad. In 1950, there were about 2.8 million students enrolled in college, and half of them attended private institutions. Today there are an estimated 19.8 million students enrolled, and almost 75 percent in public schools. 

Estimates are that there are about 31 million Americans age 18-25, traditional college age. Yes, it's quite a blur of statistics, but no matter how you look at it, at least 12 million people who might be enrolled in a college of some sort are not. 

But female and minority representation are way up and economists still can show the long-term benefits of a college degree.

And in 2020, about 37 percent of all Americans had some sort of degree, opposed to under 6 percent in 1950. So good news abounds.

But college administrators are in a panic, perhaps due to overly optimistic projections about enrollment in the recent past which led to expanding campus facilities and hiring more professors and support staff.

Employers are being forced by staffing shortages to bump up minimum pay and add bonuses and all sorts of incentives at the same time as college enrollment is declining. It's a heated competition and a good reminder that improvements and progress rarely are enjoyed by everyone. There are bound to be ebbs and flows.

Some states are devising ways to encourage more college education, with New Mexico, of all places, leading the way. Starting this summer, the state will cover all tuition at any public college in the state, no matter the family income of the student. No matter the immigration status. And the legislation enjoys bipartisan support. 

There are some minor conditions, such as maintaining a 2.5 GPA and having lived in the state for at least 12 consecutive months before enrolling, and some worry that the funding may dry up if energy prices fall and as pandemic relief money from the federal government ends.

A welcome bonus is that the "free college" program applies money for tuition and required fees BEFORE room and board and all sorts of supplementals (often more expensive than the tuition itself). So various scholarships can be used to fund those living expenses.

And get this: the $75 million cost per year of the program amounts to about one percent of the state's annual budget. 

Of course, even good news comes with some caveats. Much of New Mexico's current state income is derived from taxes on oil and other energy production -- the state is now #2 in the country in energy production. Environmentalists see some bad tradeoffs there.

But if New Mexico can find a way to make college available for all, other states are sure to follow.