The city of Detroit was mainly focused on the automotive industry. Most jobs in this industry paid well and did not require anything more than a high school diploma. This is one reason why higher education in Detroit was not usually encouraged or promoted. According to an article from Detroit Free Press, The graduation rate for Wayne State University has been 35% for the past 6 years. Because of the poor economy and unpopularity of enrollment to colleges and universities, many schools had been shut down. One example of this is Highland Park Community College.
Highland Park Community College started off as a school that taught kindergarten through eighth grade. As population increased, the college decided to expand and soon became a community college. Soon after, money became a problem for the college and in an attempt to save the school, the administrative team began to cut many programs. Along with that, the Michigan governor, John Engler, began to question the school's honesty on their use of the funds provided to them. The governor eventually cut off all funds to the school. Even after many efforts to raise money, the college eventually ran out of money and closed down. Because of Highland Park Community College closing down, many students were left on their own educationally right before graduation. Many students gave up on their eduaction because of this.
The popularity and higher importance of the automotive industry in Detroit was also another reason why enrollment in colleges and universities had significantly dropped. Since many jobs in the automotive industry did not require anything more than a high school diploma, many people did not feel the need to further their education. Detroit does not have any Private Universities. In my opinion, having a private university would be beneficial to the city and community. Further education for residents would increase the city's prosperity and more initiative would be taken to recover the detiorating economy.
Had someone a century ago donated the equivalent of $1 billion today to start a "Stanford on the Great Lakes" in Detroit, the effect might have been profound.
-Justin Pop, Could a Private University Have Made a Difference in Detroit?, The Atlantic