Community Colleges, For-Profit and Rural Institutions, Black Undergraduates, and Male Undergraduates Suffered Most from Online-Only 2020 Summer Sessions, According to Latest Enrollment Data

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Community Colleges, For-Profit and Rural Institutions, Black Undergraduates, and Male Undergraduates Suffered Most from Online-Only 2020 Summer Sessions, According to Latest Enrollment Data

HERNDON, VA – (SEPTEMBER 1, 2020) – The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center announced today that with nearly 7 million students enrolled during Summer 2020, community colleges saw enrollment losses of nearly 6% and for-profits’ enrollment declined by 7% over Summer 2019. Meanwhile, public and private nonprofit four-year colleges saw modest enrollment growth of 3% and 4%, respectively.

However, public four-year, rural institutions declined more than 8%, and private nonprofit rural campuses declined by almost 5%. But enrollment at public and private nonprofit four-year institutions in cities increased nearly 6% and those in suburbs grew by 3%.

“These data offer the first opportunity to grasp the full range of effects on students and institutions of the host of disruptions the nation has weathered this summer,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “The equity implications for higher education in the fall are becoming more clear: Many of those most affected by the pandemic also appear to be losing access to college classes, even at community colleges and rural institutions that have traditionally served them.”

The new report kicks off a new research series, Stay Informed with the Latest Enrollment Information, that will track the impact of COVID-19 on postsecondary enrollments, using the latest data available. Unlike our normal Current Term Enrollment Estimates report series, Stay Informed highlights year-over-year changes, using 2018 and 2019 historical data as pre-pandemic baselines and creating fixed panels of institutions that have submitted data within each month. This allows us to provide early insights with preliminary data before the full enrollment reporting is completed for the term. The Research Center will update the data monthly, for various subgroups of students, programs, institutions, states, or regions.

Key research findings include:

  • Black students suffered the steepest declines in undergraduate programs with a decline of 8%, particularly at community colleges with a 11% decline. But Black graduate enrollment increased 3%.
  • Hispanic undergraduate enrollment increased at all institutions except for community colleges, and Hispanics graduate students increased nearly 13% from last year, the fastest growth of all racial/ethnic groups.
  • Male undergraduate enrollments dropped overall 5.2% and nearly 14% at community colleges, compared to a decline of less than one percent for women.
  • At primarily online institutions, where more than 90 percent of student enroll exclusively online, graduate enrollment increased almost 6% and undergraduate enrollments decreased almost 4%. A total of 34 institutions are identified as primarily online, as of Spring 2020, and 28 are included in the Summer 2020 analysis. Primarily online institutions are predominantly private for-profit four-year, multi-state, institutions.
  • Undergraduate enrollment growth in public and private nonprofit four-year colleges was driven by students aged 18-20, and by high school dual enrollees, with 8% and 17% growth, respectively.

In a precursor to this new report, the Research Center’s June report, “A COVID-19 Supplement to Spring 2020 Current Term Enrollment Estimates,” showed that the pandemic did not appear to have had any major effect on students’ enrollment status changes during the spring term, regardless of demographic characteristics or institution types. However, there were early signs of broader impacts underway, such as more students taking leaves of absence than in pre-pandemic years, particularly African Americans and Hispanics.

To further quantify the impact of COVID-19 on U.S. higher education institutions, the Research Center, with financial grants from Ascendium Education Group and the ECMC Foundation, will launch in late October a new research report series titled, “COVID-19: Transfer, Mobility, and Progress,” that addresses student transfer, mobility, and progress in near-real-time.

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 2018. 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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National Student Clearinghouse Research Center to Quantify How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Student Transfer within Higher Ed Over the Next Two Years

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National Student Clearinghouse Research Center to Quantify How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Student Transfer within Higher Ed Over the Next Two Years

Ascendium and ECMC Foundation Grants Support Research of Students’ Transfer, Mobility and Progress in the United States

HERNDON, VA – (JULY 30, 2020) – The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, with financial grants from Ascendium Education Group and the ECMC Foundation, announced today that the Research Center will launch a new research report series that addresses student transfer, mobility, and progress in near-real-time, to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on higher education in the United States.

The new research series, which will include nine reports extending from Fall 2020 to Summer 2022, will provide rapid response information and context for institutions, policymakers, learners and others seeking to understand how the pandemic is changing higher education, including student success and completion rates.

The Research Center will identify changes in student transfer pathways that are attributable to the pandemic by using historical data as the pre-pandemic baseline and the Clearinghouse’s current enrollment data. By making transfer data and insights accessible online for free, the Research Center will enable schools, institutions, organizations, and policymakers to better adapt and serve students, particularly those from the most vulnerable populations, during the pandemic and beyond.

“The current upheavals in the postsecondary landscape make transferring far more challenging, affecting both the students seeking to transfer and the institutions supporting them,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “The pace of change creates a critical need for real-time data and reliable information, as events upend the plans of students and disrupt the institutions. Education can no longer expect to keep up with today’s tumultuous world while relying on old data. This is why this research will leverage the most current education data available, as reported to the Clearinghouse.”

“Ascendium wants to ensure that learners from low-income backgrounds have equitable opportunities to achieve their postsecondary goals. Many learners transfer between postsecondary institutions, but data show that current transfer policies and practices do not result in equitable outcomes,” said Carolynn Lee, Ascendium’s program officer for the grant. “In the context of COVID-19, Ascendium believes these targeted, timely reports will allow postsecondary leaders and policymakers to make data-driven, equity-focused decisions as they address challenges faced by students in transition.”

“College students face a cloud of uncertainty around many aspects of higher education moving forward. Improving and refining transfer pathways to better meet the needs of students, especially those who have been historically underserved, will be one of the most important issues we address during and after the pandemic,” said Sarah Belnick, Senior Program Director for College Success at ECMC Foundation.

The nine Research Center reports include the following, with dates subject to change:

  • Early Response Report: Oct. 2020, Representing Fall 2020
  • End of Term report: Dec. 2020, Representing Fall 2020
  • Early Response Report: March 2021, Representing Spring 2021
  • End of Term report: May 2021, Representing Spring 2021
  • Special Report: Summer 2021, Representing Academic Year 2020-21
  • Early Response Report: Oct. 2021, Representing Fall 2021
  • End of Term Report: Dec 2021, Representing Fall 2021
  • End of Term report: May 2022, Representing Spring 2022
  • Special Report: Summer 2022

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 2018. 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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How Was College Enrollment Impacted by Shutdowns and Online-Only Classes Amid COVID-19?

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How Was College Enrollment Impacted by Shutdowns and Online-Only Classes Amid COVID-19?

National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Shows Effects on Postsecondary Enrollment

HERNDON, VA – (JUNE 30, 2020) – The latest data shows that the pandemic crisis does not appear to have had any major effect on students’ enrollment statuses during the spring term, regardless of demographic characteristics or institution types, according to a new research report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Even after the campus shutdowns, the numbers of students withdrawing or changing intensity, between full- and part-time, were mostly consistent with prior years.

“Little or no change in enrollment status is a reassuring sign that most college students were able to stay on course during the first two months of the pandemic,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “However, there were early signs of broader impacts that are underway. Data reveals the emergence of small but concerning racial and ethnic patterns, as more students took leaves of absence than in pre-pandemic years, particularly African Americans and Hispanics.”

Main Findings include:

  • Intra-term changes in enrollment status during spring 2020 were consistent with pre-pandemic years.
  • Students who increased enrollment intensity (from part-time to higher or full-time) typically did so in January, showing no signs of the pandemic impact. But the peak time for all other types of status changes has shifted this year.
  • Reduced enrollment intensity peaked in April after the shutdowns, later than in previous years.
  • While overall withdrawal rate remained at pre-pandemic levels, the withdrawal peaks for community college students shifted from March to April.
  • More students appeared to take approved leaves of absence, particularly in March and April. These leaves are rare, but the percent taking leaves nearly doubled, to 0.045% of students who started the term. Particularly, African American, and Hispanic students taking leaves increased fastest among all groups.
  • New enrollments in April 2020 were far below prior years’ April numbers.

The Spring 2020 Current Term Enrollment Estimates Report published in May 2020 showed that, pre-pandemic, the steady national decline in college enrollment over the last few years had slowed slightly, from about 1.5 percent annually to just 0.5 percent this year.

Background information

The new report, A COVID-19 Supplement to Spring 2020 Current Term Enrollment Estimates, serves as a first look at the effects of COVID-19 on postsecondary enrollments, as measured by intra-term status changes, compared to the two previous years, spring 2018 and spring 2019, as the baselines. The supplement report adds the in-pandemic enrollment data from April and May 2020 to the pre-pandemic spring 2020 enrollment report. The research examines all students who enrolled in Title IV degree-granting institutions in the United States as either full time, three-quarters time, half time, or less than half time during the spring term in 2020.

The report’s interactive data dashboard (available on the Research Center website) shows the impacts for different institutions, including Historically Black College and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, rural or urban institutions, high transfer, or highly vocational community colleges. In addition, the appendix offers intra-term changes by state and by student demographics (age, gender, and race/ethnicity) at both undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as for primarily online institutions.

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 2018. 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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National Student Clearinghouse and National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Announce New Board Members

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National Student Clearinghouse and National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Announce New Board Members

HERNDON, VA – (JUNE 16, 2020) – The National Student Clearinghouse and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center announced today new members to each of their respective Board of Directors. Dr. Monty Sullivan, System President, Louisiana Community and Technical College System, was named the new board chair, and Dr. Anne Bryant, Executive Director Emerita, National School Boards Association, as the new vice chair.

“I am honored to serve as the next Chair of the National Student Clearinghouse Board of Directors,” said Dr. Sullivan. “The Clearinghouse is an important partner for the education sector. Their wide-reaching data analysis, reporting, and research help to inform our work as educators. I’m excited about the Clearinghouse’s future and look forward to serving in this leadership role.”

“The Clearinghouse’s goal of data and information democratization has never been more relevant than it is today,” said Rick Torres, President and CEO, National Student Clearinghouse. “To accomplish this end, we are evolving our data and information beyond traditional education to provide a more holistic data driven view of education, skills, and workforce pathways to better directly serve lifelong learners, and institutions of learning and enterprise. With that in mind, we enthusiastically welcome these national leaders in K12, workforce, accreditation, and higher education to the Board of Directors. I look forward to their insights in support of moving the Clearinghouse’s mission forward.”

The new Clearinghouse board members are:

The new Research Center board members are:

“The Research Center is very grateful to these four new members for volunteering to serve on our board,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the Research Center. “Particularly as we work to publish data on the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and current events, the Research Center is going to need the advice and experience of all of our board members to help education institutions better serve students and improve outcomes for disadvantaged learners.”

The Clearinghouse is governed by a board of directors comprised of a cross-section of the constituencies that it serves, including representatives from educational institutions, educational associations, and the education finance industry. The makeup of the Clearinghouse’s board reflects its status as a trusted, neutral, and reliable source for educational information and services.

About the National Student Clearinghouse®

The National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit formed in 1993, is the trusted source for and leading provider of higher education verifications and electronic education record exchanges.

The Clearinghouse serves as a single point of contact for the collection and timely exchange of accurate and comprehensive enrollment, degree, and certificate records on behalf of its more than 3,600 participating higher education institutions, which represent 98 percent of all students in public and private U.S. institutions. The Clearinghouse also provides thousands of high schools and districts with continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics on their alumni.

Through its verification, electronic exchange, and reporting services, the Clearinghouse saves the education community cumulatively over $750 million annually. Most Clearinghouse services are provided to colleges and universities at little or no charge, including enhanced transcript and research services, enabling institutions to redistribute limited staff and budget resources to more important student service efforts. Clearinghouse services are designed to facilitate an institution’s compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, The Higher Education Act, and other applicable laws. The Clearinghouse has signed the Student Privacy Pledge and is the first recipient of ikeepsafe.org’s FERPA compliance badge, which was awarded to its StudentTracker for High Schools service.

For more information, visit www.studentclearinghouse.org.

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Pace of College Enrollment Decline Slowed Nationwide Prior to Covid-19 Impact

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Pace of College Enrollment Decline Slowed Nationwide Prior to Covid-19 Impact

Research Center to Release June Special Enrollment Report Due to the Pandemic

HERNDON, VA – (MAY 26, 2020) – Overall postsecondary enrollments decreased 0.5 percent or 83,803 students from spring 2019, but the pace of decline slowed this year, according to the Spring 2020 Current Term Enrollment Estimates report. The report provides spring enrollment declines and increases for each state and the District of Columbia from 2018 to 2020.

“Prior to the pandemic, the research shows a slowing in the decline of enrollments nationally, and reversing declines in states like Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “However, some states like Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania saw an acceleration of declines.

“This report should be viewed as a pre-shutdown baseline that does not reflect any effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on enrollments. In June 2020, the Research Center will issue a special report to show within-term enrollment status changes, such as withdrawals, new enrollments and shifts in enrollment intensity, that may be attributable to the pandemic. Our special June enrollment report will give states and institutions a view into the immediate impact the pandemic had on spring term enrollments.”

According to the report, public sector enrollments involving two- and four-year colleges combined, which enrolled nearly three-quarters of all postsecondary students, fell by 1.3 percent or 163,964 students, compared to 1.9 percent and 244,376 students reported last year. It is also noteworthy that the recent growth in graduate student enrollments appears to have leveled off this year, with a slight drop of 3,286 students (-0.1%), after increases of 1.7 percent and 2 percent in the previous two years.

As opposed to the overall declines, dual enrollments of students under age 18 grew at an unprecedented rate of 6.9 percent or 46,737 students to 722,843 students. Over 70 percent of dual enrollees were in a public two-year institution and 24 percent enrolled in a public four-year institution. This dual enrollment pattern remains largely consistent with the previous two years (69% in 2019 and 67% in 2018).

Top states with largest enrollment decreases by number of students:

California                           -28,139

Pennsylvania                     -25,148

New York                           -20,439

Ohio                                    -17,691

Missouri                              -15,529

Top states with largest enrollment increases by number of students:

Arizona                               18,131

Utah                                    10,891

New Hampshire                5,600

North Carolina                  4,372

Kentucky                             4,316

The Current Term Enrollment Estimates Report Series is published every December and May by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. It provides national enrollment estimates by institutional sector, enrollment intensity, age group, gender, major field as well as state-level enrollment estimates. As of fall 2019, postsecondary institutions actively submitting enrollment data to the Clearinghouse account for 97 percent of the total enrollments at Title IV, degree-granting institutions in the United States.

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 2018. 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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How Will the Next Recession Impact U.S. College Enrollment, Persistence and Completions?

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How Will the Next Recession Impact U.S. College Enrollment, Persistence and Completions?

Higher Ed Lessons Learned During the Great Recession May Provide Insights

HERNDON, VA – (APRIL 15, 2020) – As the nation addresses the current economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data may help clarify how postsecondary pathways transpire during a recession and shed light for institutional and public policy makers to craft effective responses to respond to today’s uncertain times.

The findings presented in “National Postsecondary Enrollment Trends: Before, During, and After the Great Recession,” showcased patterns among traditional-age, first-time students enrolling in colleges and universities for fall 2006 through 2010. The report includes detailed trend summaries and related tables; color charts broken down by regions, institution types, years, and other important variables; and insights.

Furthermore, Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates – Fall 2008 Cohort reveals that while a larger number of students enrolled during the peak of the recession, completion rates declined. The largest decrease in completions was among nontraditional age students.

“During the Great Recession, our data showed that the impact on postsecondary institutions is not immediate; community colleges and for-profits saw the greatest increases in enrollment, mostly among older students who showed up later in the recession,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “However, the coronavirus impact will likely be different, especially among out of state and international enrollments as many students will want to stay closer to home, and students that continue with on-line education options. State budgets will undoubtedly be hit hard again, even as some states were just now getting their higher education funding back up to pre-recession levels.”

The “National Postsecondary Enrollment Trends: Before, During, and After the Great Recession,” findings include:

  • Community colleges experienced dramatic increases in enrollment after a delay of one to two years.
  • The proportion of students enrolling full time in public two-year institutions increased slightly and four-year institutions saw virtually no change.
  • The four-year private sector maintained its market share more effectively than was predicted.
  • Each region of the country experienced distinct enrollment patterns.
  • Persistence rates (continued enrollment with any U.S. institution) fell as the cohort size surged, particularly in community colleges

The “Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates – Fall 2008 Cohort” found that the entering student population was 12 percent larger than the one in fall 2007 (approximately 2.7 million and 2.4 million, respectively). There was a 20 percent increase in the number of older students (over age 20) and a larger share of those enrolled less than full time (1.5 percentage points more than in fall 2007). In addition, the share of students enrolled in community colleges and four-year private for-profit institutions increased one percentage point each.

Completion rates fell as cohort sizes grew. The overall national six-year completion rate for the fall 2008 cohort was 55.0 percent, a decrease from the 56.1 percent completion rate for the fall 2007 cohort. Most of the decline occurred in the rate at which students graduated from their starting institution (42.1 percent for fall 2008 vs. 43.0 percent for fall 2007). There was almost no change in the rate at which students transferred and completed at a different institution. Other key stats include:

  • Some student populations experienced larger declines in their attainment rates, while others remained the same or actually increased.
  • Nontraditional age students saw the largest decline. The completion rate fell 2.6 percentage points for those who entered college at age 21 through 24, and 1.4 percentage points for adult learners over 24.
  • Traditional-age students experienced a 0.5 percent decline, attributable mostly to a small shift away from full-time enrollment
  • Completion rates held steady for traditional-age students who enrolled exclusively full-time, and increased slightly, by 0.3 percentage points, for those who combined full-time and part-time enrollments
  • The total completion rate for students who started in two-year public institutions declined 0.7 percentage points (39.1 percent for fall 2008 vs 39.8 percent for fall 2007)
  • There was a larger decline in the transfer pathway from two-year to four-year colleges: 16.2 percent of the students who started at community colleges went on to graduate from four-year schools, compared to 17.2 percent of the fall 2007 cohort
  • The completion rate for those who started in four-year private nonprofit institutions increased 0.7 percentage points. However, this group’s share of the total cohort for fall 2008 was 1.2 percentage points smaller than for fall 2007

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 2018. 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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