Undergraduate Enrollment Falls 662,000 Students in Spring 2022 and 1.4 Million During the Pandemic

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Undergraduate Enrollment Falls 662,000 Students in Spring 2022 and 1.4 Million During the Pandemic

Rate of Decline Accelerates Compared to Fall 2021

HERNDON, VA – (MAY 26, 2022) – Undergraduate enrollment declined by more than 662,000 students or 4.7% from spring 2021, according to a new report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. To date, the undergraduate student body has dropped by nearly 1.4 million students or 9.4% during the pandemic. The annual rate of decline this spring is steeper than fall 2021’s drop of 3.1%, and just slightly below the 4.9% drop in spring 2021.

Meanwhile, total postsecondary enrollment of approximately 16 million students, which includes graduate students, has fallen a total of 4.1% from last spring, or 685,000 students, per the Spring 2022 Current Term Enrollment Estimates’ report. This follows a 3.5% drop last spring. All institutional sectors experienced varying degrees of enrollment declines this spring. Overall, postsecondary enrollment declined a total of nearly 7.4% or 1.3 million students since this time two-years ago.

“College enrollment declines appear to be worsening,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “Although there may be some signs of a nascent recovery, particularly in a slight increase of first-year students, the numbers are small, and it remains to be seen whether they will translate into a larger freshman recovery in the coming fall.”

Top Spring 2022 Current Term Enrollment Estimates Findings Include:

The public sector, community colleges and four-year institutions combined, experienced the steepest drop, of more than 604,000 students or a 5% decline (see Table 1).
Community colleges continued to suffer the most, with 351,000 fewer students or a drop of 7.8%. This decline represents more than half of the total postsecondary enrollment losses this term and amounts to a total loss of more than 827,000 community college students since spring 2020 (see Table 2).
First-time, first-year enrollment increased this spring 4.2% or 13,700 students. This follows a decline of 3.5% or 11,800 students the previous spring. Nearly 340,000 freshmen enrolled for the first time this spring, with nearly six out of 10 starting at a community college. Community college freshmen increased by 6,000 students or 3.1%, after experiencing declines the previous spring of 23,000 students or a 10.7% loss. This spring, public four-year colleges reported the largest freshmen increase of 7,300 students or a 10.8% bump. First-time enrollments are typically much less in spring than in fall terms (See Spring Freshman Enrollment Trends’ section, page 16).

Other highlights:

There were more than 462,000 or 4.6% fewer women students this spring. This is more than double of the losses experienced the previous year, which leads to a two-year, total enrollment decline of 665,000 female students. Women declined the most at community colleges (-9.2% or 251,000 fewer women versus 100,000 or 5.6% fewer men). In all sectors, men declined by more than 220,000 students (see Table 7).

Enrollment of adults over age 24 fell by 5.8% or 354,000 students this spring, with half of this decrease (176,000 students or 10.8%) seen at community colleges (see Table 4).

Traditional college-aged students (18-24) continued to decline by 3.2% or 316,000 students since spring 2021, which is a slower pace from a 5% decline the previous year. Since the start of the pandemic, community colleges have lost nearly 20% of students in the traditional college age group and 16% of adult students (see Table 4).

In a special analysis of first-time, first-year students by race and ethnicity, Asian and Latinx freshman enrollment grew nationally over spring 2021, +15% and +4% respectively. In contrast, Black freshman enrollment declined by 6.5% or 2,600 students. The compounding previous losses results in a total of 18.7% or 8,400 fewer Black freshmen than in spring 2020.

Business, healthcare, and liberal arts continue to be the most common undergraduate majors for both four-year and two-year college students. The largest undergraduate majors at four-year institutions showed stagnant enrollment or continued drops, with a few exceptions such as computer sciences (+7.8% or 37,600 students) and psychology (+4.7% or 22,600 students). Meanwhile, two-year college skilled trades program enrollment increased this spring, including mechanic and repair (+11.5%, 9,950 students), culinary (+12.7%, 6,170 students), construction (+19.3%, 11,140 students), and precision and production (+16.7%, 7,740 students). However, only the growth of construction majors led to pre-pandemic levels of enrollment (see Tables 9 and 10).

The Current Term Enrollment Estimates (CTEE) Report Series is published in the spring and the fall of each year by the Research Center, with state-level spring enrollments broken out (see Tables 8a and 8b). A special analysis of the spring freshmen included this year highlights distinctive pandemic-related enrollment trends. The report provides national enrollment estimates by institutional sector, enrollment intensity, age group, gender, major field, and state. See the report’s methodological notes and understanding the numbers for other details.

About the National Student Clearinghouse^® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes.

The Research Center currently collects data from more than 3,600 postsecondary institutions, which represent 97 % of the nation’s postsecondary enrollments in degree-granting institutions, as of 2019. Clearinghouse data track enrollments nationally and are not limited by institutional and state boundaries. To learn more, visit https://nscresearchcenter.org.

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More Than 39 million Americans Have Some College, No Credential, According to New Research

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More Than 39 million Americans Have Some College, No Credential, According to New Research

California, Texas, New York, and Illinois Combined Produce More Than a Third of These Students

HERNDON, VA – (MAY 10, 2022) – More than 39 million Americans have some college, but no credential, according to a new report released today by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The “some college, no credential (SCNC)” population is up 3.1 million from nearly 36 million previously reported in 2019.

California, Texas, New York, and Illinois combined account for more than a third of the nation’s SCNC individuals. Arizona encountered the steepest net increase with more than 86,400 SCNC students. Only Nebraska and Connecticut did not experience any net growth in SCNC learners out of all the states.

According to the report, “Some College, No Credential Student Outcomes Annual Progress Report – Academic Year 2020/21,” despite the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 944,000 Americans aged 18 to 64 with some college, no credential re-enrolled during the academic year 2020/21, and more than 60,000 earned their first-ever postsecondary credential, including more than 18,000 bachelor’s degrees. Furthermore, 61.1% of those who re-enrolled in 2019/20 either persevered into the second year or attained a credential within a year of re-enrolling.

“These outcomes indicate the scale of opportunity that the SCNC population represents for efforts to raise the level of postsecondary education attainment in the U.S.,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “Moreover, at a time when most colleges are still reeling from historic enrollment declines during the pandemic, the continued health of higher education institutions, and their ability to meet the needs of future students, may depend on their success at re-engaging SCNC learners.”

Low student success rates are widespread in American higher education. More than 25% of college freshmen do not return for their second year, including 41% of those who started at a community college, according to the Research Center in 2021. The nation’s six-year completion rate is 62.2%, as of January 2022.

Other “Some College, No Credential” report specifics include:

Black, Latinx, and Native American learners are over-represented among the SCNC population, relative to their shares of currently enrolled undergraduate students.
48 states and D.C. experienced a net growth of SCNC student numbers. Arizona encountered the steepest net increase with more than 86,400 students or 15%.
Although California, Texas, New York, and Illinois account for more than a third of the nation’s SCNC students, Alaska shows the largest number of SCNC students per 1,000 currently enrolled undergraduates.
Only two states, Nebraska and Connecticut, did not experience growth, a net decrease of 250 SCNC students or -0.1%, and a decline of 1,200 SCNC learners or -0.3%, respectively.
SCNC students who stopped out of multi-state institutions or primarily online institutions showed the second fastest rate of net growth and increase of more than 315,000 or 13.7%. (These are not included in individual state counts; see more information about these institutions in the report’s methodology.)
During the academic year 2020/21, 944,200 SCNC students re-enrolled and 60,400 earned their first-ever postsecondary credential. An additional 531,700 students were still enrolled after re-enrolling the previous year. These outcomes reference SCNC students aged 18 to 64.
About 62% of the 944,200 students changed institutions upon re-enrolling, and 67% of those students who did change institutions also commonly crossed institution sectors. Re-enrolling in a community college after last attending a community college was the most common pathway for SCNC re-enrollees, 363,400 students or 38.5%.
70% of the 60,400 completers obtained their credential from a public institution, either two- or four-year. Private, nonprofit four-year institutions had the highest perseverance rates, 64.8%, while community colleges had the lowest, 50.2%.
Women outnumbered men in re-enrollment, credential earning, and perseverance. The share of re-enrollees among minority women was substantially higher than men: 63.5% versus 34.6%.
Associate degrees were the most common credential earned by Latinx students, 42.5%. Black students were most likely to have completed a certificate, 42.7%.
Asian and White students persevered at rates higher than other groups (61.2% and 57.6%, respectively compared to Latinx (55.0%), Black (51.4%), and Native American (51.1%) students).
SCNC students’ success and progress outcomes are available for all 50 states and D.C. in the data dashboard and data appendices.

In October 2019, the United States saw nearly 1 million former students, in just five years, return to postsecondary education and earn their first undergraduate credential, according to the report, “Some College, No Degree: A 2019 Snapshot for the Nation and 50 States.” In the report, the Research Center identified 36 million adults who had some postsecondary experience but had yet to earn any type of credential and were no longer enrolled. In 2014, the Research Center released the first report in this series.

The “Some College, No Credential” report series, with support from Lumina Foundation, seeks to understand the educational trajectories of millions of U.S. adults who left postsecondary education without receiving a postsecondary credential and are no longer enrolled. As the third in a series, the SCNC report quantifies the SCNC population growth over time and identifies the levels of opportunity within each state for re-engaging SCNC students in the postsecondary attainment pipeline.

The SCNC report introduces three new metrics for tracking progress among SCNC students annually:

“Re-Enrollment” after a stop-out
Completion of “First Credential”
“Perseverance” as indicated by continuous enrollment beyond first re-enrollment.

The Research Center provides these outcomes both for the nation and by state, with details on student subgroups categorized by gender, age, and race/ethnicity.

About the National Student Clearinghouse^® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes.

The Research Center currently collects data from more than 3,600 postsecondary institutions, which represent 97 percent of the nation’s postsecondary enrollments in degree-granting institutions, as of 2019. Clearinghouse data track enrollments nationally and are not limited by institutional and state boundaries. To learn more, visit https://nscresearchcenter.org.

Media contact: media@studentclearinghouse.org

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Overall Transfer Enrollment Drops Nearly 7%; Total Two-Year Decline of 16% Since Spring 2020

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Overall Transfer Enrollment Drops Nearly 7%; Total Two-Year Decline of 16% Since Spring 2020

In Major Shift, Upward Transfers Suffer 11.6% Decline This Spring

HERNDON, VA – (MAY 3, 2022) – The latest COVID-19: Transfer, Mobility, and Progress report, shows that in spring 2022, undergraduate transfer enrollment dropped another 6.9% over last year, resulting in a total two-year decline of 16% since the beginning of the pandemic. Non-transfer enrollment also continued a downward trend, but the one-year declines were not as steep as among transfer students (-3.8% for non-transfer students).

Most notable this spring are steep declines in upward transfer enrollment—most likely a ripple effect of pandemic-related sharp enrollment drops at community colleges, impacting freshmen, continuing, and returning students alike. After remaining stable last year, the number of students moving from a two-year to a four-year institution dropped 11.6%, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report.

“This constriction of a key path to bachelor’s degree attainment is very concerning,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “Lower-income students seeking more affordable degree options are being squeezed out.”

All student groups declined in upward transfer enrollment, irrespective of age, gender, and race/ethnicity. The declines also affected all four-year colleges, regardless of selectivity level.

As a consequence, student groups have reversed the progress they made last year:

-13.1% vs. +3.0% last spring for women;
-7.2% vs. +4.5% last spring for students ages 18-20;
-12.4% vs. +2.5% last spring for 30 or older;
-11.1% vs. +3.1% last spring for Asian; and
-10.2% vs. +3.2% last spring for Latinx.

Continued declines in every major racial and ethnic category throughout the pandemic resulted in a total two-year decline of 15 to 20% (-19.4% for White, -18.6% for Native American, -17.1% for Asian, -16.3% for Black, and -15.6% for Latinx).

Upward transfer enrollment declined 12.5% at highly selective colleges this spring, completely erasing last year’s gain (+3.7%) (see Figures 3, 4, 7 and 8).

The only transfer pathway that showed growth this spring was four-year lateral transfer, growing 5% to partly recover the 8.8% drop last year. The gains were limited to transfers into very competitive, competitive, and less selective institutions, while the highly selective colleges declined (+4.7%, +7.2%, +5.0%, and -4.1%, respectively). This pathway also increased last fall.

Two-year lateral and reverse transfer enrollments both continued to decline this spring, although at a slower pace (-11.1% vs. -13.8% last spring for two-year lateral transfer; -4.4% vs. -17.1% last spring for reverse transfer). Both cross-state and in-state transfers also fell, by 8.4% and 3.4%, respectively (see Figures 3, 4, and 6).

Continuing transfers fell at public and private nonprofit four-years (-5.4% and -9.7%, respectively) and community colleges (-4.7%). Private for-profit four-years however, experienced growth of 7.8% in continuing transfer enrollment, recovering partially from last year’s steep declines (-9.9%). Returning transfer enrollment also followed a declining path across all large institutional sectors this spring, with steeper drops seen among private nonprofit four-year and community college students (-9.5% and -11.4%, respectively) (see Figure 2).

The report’s findings are based on year-over-year changes within a fixed panel of institutions that represent 89.4% of the Clearinghouse universe of institutions and 11.2 million undergraduate students (including 632,000 transfer students) reported as of March 24, 2022.

The COVID-19 Transfer, Mobility, and Progress Report series, with support from Ascendium Education Group and ECMC Foundation, identifies changes in student transfer pathways that are attributable to the pandemic by using historical data as the baseline and the Clearinghouse’s current enrollment data.

By providing the most up-to-date information about student transfer available online for free, the Research Center enables schools, institutions, organizations, and policymakers to better adapt and serve students, particularly those from the most vulnerable populations, during the pandemic and beyond.

About the National Student Clearinghouse^® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes.

The Research Center currently collects data from more than 3,600 postsecondary institutions, which represent 97 percent of the nation’s postsecondary enrollments in degree-granting institutions, as of 2020. Clearinghouse data track enrollments nationally and are not limited by institutional and state boundaries. To learn more, visit https://nscresearchcenter.org.

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