The Impact of Recent Demographic Changes and Migration Patterns on Education in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Puerto Rico is formally a territory of the United States, with significantly high levels of emigration to other parts of the U.S.A. This chapter studies the impact of demographic and economic characteristics and migration patterns on the vitality and financial stability of higher education institutions. U.S. Census Bureau data show that from 2010 to 2013, more people left the island for the U.S. mainland than migrated to Puerto Rico, the largest gap between arrivals and departures since the 1970s. This loss fuelled the island’s first sustained population decline in its history as a U.S. territory, and ‘stateside’ Puerto Ricans now exceeds the number of Puerto Ricans living on the island, as the overall population declined to 3.4 million in 2016. Following an interdisciplinary qualitative approach, this study examined the impact these patterns, threats, and challenges to the financial health of higher education institutions on the island have had on the higher education system in Puerto Rico, implications for the labour market and associated skill requirements, and how academic leaders are addressing these trends. Current efforts are also analyzed: disseminating migration data, distance learning, internationalization, high school pathways, recruitment strategies for inclusion, expansion strategies, and implications for public policy.