I don't see a movement to boost male enrollment in college. Does this show a shift in the importance of college as a gatekeeper into professions even if unrelated?
Some schools have tried adding more sports teams, assuming that it will attract more male students. Because student loan money can be used to pay for non-academic fees, these new sports programs are usually financed by increasing the mandatory athletics fees all students have to pay. The net result is that everyone ends up graduating with more debt.
A few smaller schools have taken it a step further to having pretty much open membership sports teams (intercollegiate not just intermural). They play off the egos and hopes of those who couldn't get on a team at higher division schools that offer scholarships for athletes. If you dream of playing college football but no one recruited you, there are Division III schools you can go to and get on the team as long as your tuition check clears. And if football isn't your thing, there's a dozen or so other sports you can play. As long as you pay tuition, the quality of your play doesn't matter.
This strikes me as a negative tone but... if your dream is to play college football, why is it a bad thing to play college football at a division 3 school? Division 3 doesn't necessarily mean bad either. There are olympic medalists from division 3 schools. And some of the schools are very strong, including MIT, U Chicago, and Johns Hopkins
Many colleges use affirmative action for men to boost male enrollment to achieve more gender-balance. The article says:
"Some selective colleges discriminate against women in admissions to maintain a gender balance, as The Journal reported. Generally, admissions officials prefer to limit the disparity to 55 percent female and 45 percent male."
A few smaller schools have taken it a step further to having pretty much open membership sports teams (intercollegiate not just intermural). They play off the egos and hopes of those who couldn't get on a team at higher division schools that offer scholarships for athletes. If you dream of playing college football but no one recruited you, there are Division III schools you can go to and get on the team as long as your tuition check clears. And if football isn't your thing, there's a dozen or so other sports you can play. As long as you pay tuition, the quality of your play doesn't matter.