Back to school: sluggish economy prompts renewed interest in higher education as unemployed workers retool their careers and professionals upgrade their skills.

• Author: Caley, Nora
• Position: [EXECUTIVE] EDUCATION

As unemployment rates go up, so does the number of inquiries to college admissions offices.

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Higher education is countercyclical to the rest of the economy. Colleges and universities typically see rising enrollments during recessions. Laid off workers go back to school hoping that by the time they earn a degree, the economy will improve and jobs will be plentiful. Employed people return to the classroom to gain skills that might help them avoid the next round of cuts at their companies. Still others decide that now is the perfect time to revisit their long-lost career dreams.

Representatives from local colleges and universities are noticing these trends.

"We are seeing people come back not just because they were laid off, but to increase their job skills and make themselves more marketable," says Maria Puzziferro, dean of academic affairs for CSU-Global Campus, Colorado State University's online program for adult learners.

CSU launched the program in 2008 with 250 students and now has about 1,000 students enrolled. "Online is maturing," Puzziferro says. "Ten years ago people thought online was easy. Now it's starting to mature and evolve. People understand the rigor and the convenience."

Denise Pearson, associate academic dean of the University of Denver University College, says some older students think earning a degree might give them more job security. "Usually they feel they were downsized because they had less education than other people at their company," she says. University College, DU's school of professional and continuing studies, has 877 students enrolled this summer, a 2.6 percent increase over last year.

Paula Wallace, graduate school academic adviser for the University of Colorado Denver, says some students are adults retooling their career, and others are younger students who recently earned their bachelor's degrees and are postponing their job searches.

"They are looking at the job market as being fairly daunting," Wallace says. "Rather than jumping in and trying to find a job, they decide a graduate degree in business would be a better fit, so they go that route."

Still others were laid off but want to stay in their industries. Scott Tongen worked in commercial real estate underwriting and was laid off in April 2008. He signed up for the 11-month MBA program at the UC Denver Business School. He hopes to get a job in commercial credit analysis.

"There aren't as many positions out there as there were a couple of years ago, but I'm hoping the MBA will help me have that edge over people who might not have continued their education," he says. He finished the program in July.

Bill Husson, vice president for professional studies and strategic alliances for Regis University...