As the nation hurtles toward a presidential election that will showcase a deep cultural divide between those who attained a college degree and those who did not, there are emerging signs that high schoolers are souring on the value of an undergraduate degree.

National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which tracks higher education enrollment, released the latest numbers last week for the fall 2024 semester. What the data show is a slow but massive shift in the public’s approach to postsecondary education that may destroy the reputational and institutional power of traditional four-year college attendance.