Cost of education continues to rise, yet (undergrad) enrollment in higher ed leveled off ~2010. Can anyone meta explain what's going on? Are applications down

Cost of education continues to rise, yet (undergrad) enrollment in higher ed leveled off ~2010. Can anyone meta explain what's going on? Are applications down? Is higher ed constraining the supply? Are males being "left behind", like we've been warned (eg more high school drop outs and less college)? Meaning male enrollment is decreasing faster than female enrollment is increasing? Are higher tuitions diverting demand to alternatives, like trades, voc-tech, and online education? Am I just misunderstanding the numbers? "Total fall enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by attendance status, sex of student, and control of institution: Selected years, 1947 through 2029" https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d20/tables/dt20_303.10.asp https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d20/tables/dt20_303.10.a... "Characteristics of Postsecondary Students" https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/csb/postsecondary-students https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/csb/postsecondary... "Q: information on postsecondary enrollment trends?" Answer: https://nces.ed.gov/fastFacts/display.asp?id=98 https://nces.ed.gov/fastFacts/display.asp?id=98 -- I am in favor of more education. If supply is constrained, as ProfGalloway claims, then I wholeheartedly support increasing supply. But if demand is down, I'd like to think about possible solutions a little more more. Like free/cheap education (which I also support). Further #1: Future admissions need to look more like a lottery. Futher #2: Separately, but probably relevant somehow, these hedge funds and real estate moguls hiding behind university brands needs to be subjected to repeated radical cashectomies. Maybe like requiring them to prop up other (struggling) institutions (another of ProfGalloway's suggestions). Maybe erect a wall between funds and schools. Maybe a new category of corporation, where the endowments need to be spent (use it or lose it).