Postsecondary Transfer Enrollment Stabilized In Fall 2021

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Postsecondary Transfer Enrollment Stabilized In Fall 2021

HERNDON, VA – (JANUARY 19, 2022) – Postsecondary transfer enrollment appears to have stabilized in fall 2021 following a precipitous decline a year earlier, with a drop of less than 1% (-11,300 students) compared to a 9.2% decline (-137,000 students) in fall 2020, according to research released today by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

In contrast, non-transfer enrollment fell a further 4.1%, an acceleration of the previous year’s 2.3% drop. The latest COVID-19: Transfer, Mobility, and Progress report, the sixth in the series, reflects the pandemic’s impact on postsecondary transfer students.

“Transfer pathways in fall 2021 show signs of students and campuses working hard to find greater latitude for navigating the pandemic,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “Even as total undergraduate enrollment slid further, students who have stayed enrolled are finding ways to adapt to their specific challenges through transfer and mobility.”

Report Highlights include:

Transfers are up 2.3% among continuing students (+19,300), but down a further 5.8% among those returning from a stop-out (-30,600). Increased transfers among continuing students were most pronounced at private nonprofit four-year institutions (+7.7%), followed by public four-year institutions (+1.5%).
Patterns of transfer and mobility have diverged across different pathways in fall 2021. Reverse and lateral transfers, the pathways with the steepest declines reported the year before, remain largely stable (-0.9% vs. -17.5% in fall 2020 and +0.2% vs. -13.3% in fall 2020, respectively). Upward transfers continued to dip slightly (-1.6% vs. -2.7% in fall 2020), now showing the largest numerical decline of any pathway (-10,600 students compared with -1,756 reverse transfers and +1,039 lateral transfers).
Mobility increased among continuing students but decreased among returning students across all transfer pathways (upward, lateral, and reverse). Four-year lateral transfers–from a four-year to another four-year college–had the largest disparity, increasing 9.0% (+15,200) among continuing students while declining 9.2% (-10,000) for returning students.
Upward transfers increased at very competitive colleges in fall 2021 (+5,000 students or +4.0%). Also notable is a 5-6% growth in four-year lateral transfers at very competitive and competitive institutions (+9,200 students as a total). Upward transfers at highly selective institutions grew more slowly than last year (+1,700 students or +2.7% vs. +5,600 students or +9.5% in fall 2020).
Younger transfer students aged 18-20 is the only age group to experience growth in fall 2021, fully recovering from their 2020 declines (+13.6% vs. -8.7% in fall 2020).
Reversing the gender pattern from fall 2020, transfer enrollment increased 1.2% for men (+6,200), while continuing to decline another 2.3% for women (-18,200).
Compared to fall 2020, White, Black, Latinx, and Native American transfer enrollments dropped at considerably smaller rates (-2.5%, -1.8%, -2.9%, and -1.0%, respectively). Asian transfer student numbers fell slightly more than last year (-4.4%).

The COVID-19: Transfer, Mobility, and Progress presents the undergraduate transfer enrollment and pathways in the fall of 2021. It analyzes 12 million undergraduate students, including 1.3 million transfer students, as reported by 92.6% of colleges as of Nov 18, 2021. Because of the high data coverage rate, this report offers the enrollment numbers along with the year-over-year percentage changes, both of which are available for downloading.

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 pre-pandemic 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 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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Fall 2021 Undergraduate Enrollment Declines 465,300 Students Compared to Fall 2020

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Fall 2021 Undergraduate Enrollment Declines 465,300 Students Compared to Fall 2020

Undergraduate Enrollment Declines Exceed 1 Million Since Fall 2019

HERNDON, VA – (JANUARY 13, 2022) – Compared to fall 2020, total undergraduate enrollment declined by 3.1% or 465,300 students, for a total two-year decline during the COVID-19 pandemic of 6.6%, or 1,025,600 students since fall 2019, according to a new report released today by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Nationwide, more than 17 million students enrolled in colleges and universities in fall 2021. Meanwhile, total fall enrollment increased in only four states: Arizona, Colorado, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

The number of students seeking associate degrees, which fell by 6.2% this year, accounts for 713,000 of the undergraduate decline since 2019, a 14.1% drop over two years. Bachelor’s degree seekers fell by 3% this year, and have now fallen by 3.9% since 2019, a two-year decline of 333,900. Graduate student enrollment declined 0.4% or 10,800 this year.

“Our final look at fall 2021 enrollment shows undergraduates continuing to sit out in droves as colleges navigate yet another year of COVID-19,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “Without a dramatic re-engagement in their education, the potential loss to these students’ earnings and futures is significant, which will greatly impact the nation as a whole in years to come.”

Undergraduate enrollment declined across all institution sectors, with private for-profit four-year colleges suffering the steepest percentage drop (-11.1% or 65,500 students) and public four-year institutions losing the largest number of students (251,400 or -3.8%) compared to the previous year. Private nonprofit four-year enrollment decreased by 2.2% or 58,700 students this fall.

Enrollment declines at community colleges this fall totaled -3.4% or 161,800 students. However, the number of associate degree-seeking students enrolled at four-year institutions fell much more steeply (-11.0% at public four-year, -6.2% at private nonprofit four-year, and -11.9% at private for-profit four-year institutions). Public two-year colleges remain the hardest hit sector since the start of the pandemic (-13.2% or 706,100 students over 2019).

Two-year and four-year public institutions combined, which enroll 76% of all undergraduates, showed a 3.1% decline or nearly 398,600 student losses.

Freshman enrollment stabilized this fall following a precipitous decline last year. Enrollment is up about 0.4% or 8,100 students from 2020, but still 9.2% less or 213,400 fewer freshman students compared to pre-pandemic levels in fall 2019. Private nonprofit four-year colleges led this fall’s freshmen increase by 2.9% or 11,600 students, followed by public two-year colleges improving 0.4% or 3,000 students. Freshman enrollment continued to decline in other sectors this fall.

Adult students (age 24 and older) saw the sharpest relative enrollment decline this fall (3.4% or 210,800 students), largely driven by steep declines at four-year colleges. Traditional college-age students (18-24) declined by 2.4% or 254,100 students, with the sharpest declines in the public two-year college sector (5.3% or 135,400 students). Dual enrolled high school students (under 18) increased at public two-year institutions by 1.5% but fell at public and private nonprofit four-year institutions (6.9%, and 1.1%, respectively).

Enrollment in each of the five largest undergraduate majors (Business, Health, Liberal Arts, Biology, and Engineering) at four-year colleges fell steeply this year. Liberal Arts declined the most (7.6%), while Computer Sciences and Psychology, the sixth and seventh largest majors, grew by 1.3 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. Among the largest two-year college majors, Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting, and Related Protective Services declined the most (7.4%), while Computer Sciences and Engineering increased (2.9% and 1.5%, respectively).

The Current Term Enrollment Estimates (CTEE) Report Series is published in the spring and the fall of each year by the Research Center. It provides national enrollment estimates by institutional sector, enrollment intensity, age group, gender, major field, and state. Starting in fall 2020, state-level enrollment data are also shown by institution sector.

As with the previous editions, the Fall 2021 CTEE provides estimated postsecondary enrollment numbers based on the Clearinghouse universe of institutions, after accounting for data coverage rates. This differs from the Stay Informed report series that is designed to quantify the immediate effects of COVID-19 by analyzing year-over-year percentage change in unadjusted, preliminary data for fixed panels of institutions that reported data in the same month each year from fall 2019 to fall 2021. The estimated enrollment numbers presented in the CTEE report may differ from the results of the Stay Informed reports due to the difference in methodology and institution coverage. The most recent SI report, released November 18, included 74% of institutions that had submitted data by October 21.

Next week, the Research Center will release an update to the COVID-19: Transfer, Mobility, and Progress report.

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.

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High School Benchmarks 2021 Report Features Gap Year Enrollment Analysis

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High School Benchmarks 2021 Report Features Gap Year Enrollment Analysis

Fewer Class of 2020 High School Gap Year Students Enrolled in College in Fall 2021

HERNDON, VA – (DECEMBER 3, 2021) – The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center announced today the ninth annual High School Benchmarks report, which features a special analysis of gap year enrollment for 2020 high school graduates who waited until fall 2021 to enroll in college.

“We found no upswing in gap year college enrollment this fall,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the Research Center. “Only 2% of those who did not enroll in college immediately after high school in 2020 showed up as gap year enrollments in fall 2021, strongly suggesting that the pandemic-related concerns that kept many students out of college last year have not abated.”

Key findings include:

The overall gap year college enrollment rate for the class of 2020 declined slightly from previous classes, from 2.6% for 2018 and 2.2% for 2019, to just 2.0% of the 2020 class who had not enrolled in their first fall.
The gap year enrollment rate in fall 2021 is low regardless of high school characteristics, ranging from 1.1% to 3.2%, a stark contrast with the patterns of disparity found in immediate college enrollment for the class of 2020.
Fall 2020 enrollment trend data for 2020 high school graduates, in approximately 8,400 high schools nationwide, further confirms the pandemic effect of the Research Center’s preliminary report issued in March 2021 (See Appendix B, Table 1 for details).

The COVID-19 gap year analysis section of the High School Benchmarks 2021 report provides preliminary estimates of the impact of COVID-19 on gap year enrollment for the 2019 and 2020 graduating classes of high school seniors, compared to the pre-pandemic baseline of the 2018 class. The analysis covers nearly 860,000 graduates and 3,500 high schools that consistently reported their graduates within a similar time frame each year from 2018 through 2020. It shows their immediate fall and gap year (following fall) enrollments at the approximately 67 percent of colleges that reported enrollment data as of October in each year from 2019 through 2021.

The High School Benchmarks 2021 – National College Progression Rates examines college enrollment for the high school graduating class of 2020, persistence for the class of 2018, and completion for the class of 2014. These data are the most relevant benchmarks for monitoring and evaluating progress in assisting students to make the high school to college transition and earn a credential in a timely manner. In spring 2022, the Research Center will issue a Special COVID-19 Analysis on the high school class of 2021 for their enrollment in fall 2021.

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 fall 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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Undergraduate Enrollment Declines Nearly 8% and Community Colleges Drop 15% Since Fall 2019

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Undergraduate Enrollment Declines Nearly 8% and Community Colleges Drop 15% Since Fall 2019

California, Indiana, Mississippi, and New Mexico Feature the Largest Enrollment Declines

HERNDON, VA – (NOVEMBER 18, 2021) – Roughly two months into the second fall semester of the pandemic, postsecondary enrollment is now running 2.6% below last year’s level, according to the latest research by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Undergraduate enrollment has declined 3.5% so far this fall, with a total two-year decline of 7.8% since 2019. However, graduate enrollment has grown 2.1%, which maintains the 2.7% upward trend from last fall.

The updated figures released today reflect 13.7 million undergraduate and graduate students combined, as reported by 74% of more than 3,600 Title IV degree-granting institutions that participate in the Clearinghouse as of October 21, 2021.

Undergraduate enrollment has declined across all institution sectors. Enrollment decreases in public four-year and private for-profit four-year institutions were steeper than last fall. This fall, public four-year institutions declined 2.5% vs a 1.6% loss last fall. Private for-profit four-year institutions this fall dropped 8.5% vs a 2.6% drop last fall. Enrollment at private nonprofit four-year institutions remained largely stable (-0.6%) while community college enrollment continued to fall, but at a slower rate than last fall (-6.0% vs. -9.4% last fall). Community college enrollment is now down a total of 14.8% since 2019.

Meanwhile, primarily online institutions, where more than 90% of students enrolled exclusively online prior to the pandemic, saw both undergraduate and graduate enrollments decline steeply (-8.9% and -8.2%, respectively) across gender and age groups, reversing growth experienced previous fall.

“Today’s data are largely consistent with last month’s report,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “And with more schools counted, the continued downward trends raise even more troubling concerns for students and institutions struggling to recover from the first pandemic year.”

Enrollment continued to fall regardless of institution sectors, with the steepest drops in the private for-profit four-year and public two-year sectors. Within the four-year institution sector, highly selective colleges enrolled 3.1% more undergraduates this fall while less selective institutions continued a downward trend.

Among 46 states for which sufficient data are available, 41 saw drops in undergraduate enrollment compared to last fall. Among the states with the steepest declines were Mississippi (-9.2%), Indiana (-7.1%), New Mexico (-6.8%), and California (-6.5%), each of which also had double-digit decreases since 2019. Graduate enrollment is up in 40 states, with Maine, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Florida all experiencing growth over 6% this fall.

Last month’s research revealed, with 50.5% of institutions, representing 8.4 million students, reporting to the Clearinghouse as of September 23, undergraduate enrollment showed a decline of 3.2% since fall 2020. This echoed last fall’s 3.4% drop.

Other research updates include:

Overall undergraduate enrollments are down across all racial and ethnic groups, with White, Black, and Native American students falling the most, at about 5% to 6 % this fall. Nonetheless, at private nonprofit, four-year institutions, Asian (+2.7%), Latinx (+1.0%), Native American (+1.1%), and international student (+7.9%) enrollment grew. Enrollment continued to decrease in all racial and ethnic groups at community colleges.

International undergraduate students show another 3.1% enrollment drop this fall, but at the graduate level, a 12.7% increase fully makes up for the losses experienced last year (-7.0%). Graduate enrollment among Asian and Latinx student also continued growing this fall (+8.8% and +6.3% respectively).

Over the two-year period since 2019, both public, four- and two-year institutions saw larger declines in full-time than part-time enrollment (-4.8% vs. -0.8% for public four-year and -17.6% vs. -13.2% for public two-year institutions). At private nonprofit four-year institutions, there was a small growth in full-time undergraduates this fall (+0.2%).

Last year’s growth in MBA and education master’s program enrollments reversed this fall, with both majors showing enrollment declines (-1.4% and -3.9%, respectively). Growth in health fields slowed from last year (+0.7% vs. +5.3% last fall) but computer and information sciences, engineering, and biological and biomedical sciences experienced large growth this fall (+19.9%, +9.7%, and +9.5%, respectively).

For other details, review the Stay Informed with the Latest Enrollment Information.

In addition, the fall 2021 Current Term Enrollment Estimates is scheduled to come out on or around Wednesday, Dec. 15.

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 fall 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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National Student Clearinghouse Launches New Pilot to Map Student Transcripts to Employer-Verified Skill Sets

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National Student Clearinghouse Launches New Pilot to Map Student Transcripts to Employer-Verified Skill Sets

Education nonprofit engages data services firm AstrumU to help connect education and skills to career outcomes

HERNDON, VA – (NOVEMBER 15, 2021) – The National Student Clearinghouse and AstrumU today announced a new innovation pilot designed to help schools and learners better understand how postsecondary education transcripts and records connect to outcomes in the workforce.

Over the next year, the National Student Clearinghouse — which works with more than 3,600 colleges and universities — will evaluate AstrumU’s technology and how it can support data exchange initiatives for higher ed. The two companies have established a pilot to look for opportunities to relieve data exchange constraints and provide improved access to trusted data and insights for institutions and learners. The Clearinghouse and AstrumU expect to leverage insights from the pilot to further serve the education community to identify where machine learning can be leveraged to streamline the exchange of learner information.

“As we serve education professionals and students in an emerging era of digital credentialing, it’s critical that we discover and implement new ways to interpret and transform information to benefit institutions, learners, and industry,” said Rob Groot, managing director of learner mobility and experience at the National Student Clearinghouse. “This pilot initiative builds on our long history as a trusted, nonprofit partner in the education industry for nearly 30 years. Our aim is to develop new services with AstrumU that will unlock more value for the learners, the institutions, employers and public sector stakeholders who rely on information and Clearinghouse data for business decisions.”

AstrumU’s platform can ingest verified data directly from both schools, and employers, to understand—and predict—how specific skills, courses, and even internships or service-learning experiences translate into career outcomes. Its AI-powered recommendation engine uses predictive models to identify and recommend high-value career paths within reach for each student based on their academic and professional experiences.

“Emerging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence are now making it possible to analyze and understand the connections between transcripts and credentials and their value in the labor market,” said Kaj Pederson, chief technology officer, AstrumU. “This initiative is about democratizing insight into education-to-career pathways for institutions, students, and prospective employers.”

Originally incubated at the University of Kansas, AstrumU’s suite of tools for learners, and advisors are now used by an initial cohort of colleges and universities across the country that includes the University of Kansas, the University of Washington, Pepperdine University, American University, and others.

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. Besides working with nearly 3,600 postsecondary institutions, the Clearinghouse also provides thousands of high schools and districts with continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics on their alumni. For more details, visit studentclearinghouse.org.

About AstrumU

AstrumU translates educational experiences into economic opportunity. We are on a mission to quantify the return on education investment for learners, education providers, and employers. We help institutions measure the value created for incoming and returning students, while assisting them in securing industry partnerships that lead students seamlessly into high-demand career pathways. Institutions partner with AstrumU to drive enrollment and increase alumni and corporate engagement, while extending economic mobility opportunities inclusively to all learners.

Contact: media@studentclearinghouse.org and media@astrumu.com.

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Undergraduate Enrollment Declines Show No Signs of Recovery From 2020

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Undergraduate Enrollment Declines Show No Signs of Recovery From 2020

Undergrads Decline additional 3.2%

Community Colleges Drop 5.6% while Public Four-Year Colleges Fall 2.3%

HERNDON, VA – (OCTOBER 26, 2021) – According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, fall postsecondary enrollment numbers show no signs of recovery from last year’s declines, according to early data released today in an update to Stay Informed with the Latest Enrollment Information.

With 50.5% of institutions, representing 8.4 million students, reporting to the Clearinghouse as of September 23, undergraduate enrollment continues to decline, falling by 3.2% since fall 2020. This echoes last fall’s drop of 3.4%.

Combined with fall 2020’s declines, the number of undergraduate students has now fallen by a total of 6.5% from two years ago in fall 2019. Graduate student enrollment continued to grow, reaching 2.1% above last year’s level, for a total increase of 5.3% over two years. Overall postsecondary enrollment (undergrad and grad combined) declined by 2.3% this year, for a total two-year decline of 4.6%.

“Far from filling the hole of last year’s enrollment declines, we are still digging it deeper,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “A year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to see significant nationwide declines in undergraduate students, and community colleges remain the most adversely affected sector, experiencing a 14.1% total enrollment decline since fall 2019.”

Undergraduate enrollment is down in all sectors, particularly among public two- and four-year colleges, and private for-profits. With a lower institutional coverage rate in this early data, however, the for-profit results should be interpreted with caution. Public two-year enrollment continued to slide (-5.6%) although not as sharply as the enrollment shock seen last fall (-9%). Public four-year enrollment, however, has fallen more this fall (-2.3% vs. -0.8% last fall) and private for-profit four-year college enrollment fell precipitously (-12.7%) in contrast to last year’s small drop (-0.3%) (see Figure 1). At primarily online institutions, undergraduate and graduate enrollments dropped by 5.4% and 13.6%, respectively, largely erasing the gains of the previous year (+8.6% last fall for both levels) (see Figure 25).

Meanwhile, undergraduates at private nonprofit four-years fared better, falling only 0.7% this fall. There was a sharp disparity within the sector, however, as the most highly selective institutions grew 4.3% to return to pre-pandemic levels (now +1.8% from two years ago). All other selectivity categories experienced further declines of 1.8% to 2.5 % from last fall. A similar divide emerged among public four-year institutions: Highly selective state flagships increased 1.0% while less selective publics fell 5.2% (see Figure 5).

Nationwide, freshman enrollment has declined 3.1% this fall. While the rate of decline is less than one-third that of the previous fall (-9.5%), it remains far from having stabilized, much less showing the level of increase that would have been required to restore the losses from 2020’s entering class. Public two-year institutions again showed the sharpest freshman enrollment declines among the three largest sectors (-6.1%). This year’s freshman class at community colleges is now 20.8% below 2019’s, while the first-year enrollment numbers at all institutions are 12.3% smaller than in 2019 (see Figure 7).

White, Black, and Native American undergraduates declined more than other racial and ethnic U.S. student groups, each falling between 4.4% and 5.1%. Latinx and Asian students fell at about half those rates (-2.4% and -2.2%, respectively, see Figure 19). Whites and Blacks also showed the largest declines among freshmen (-8.6% and -7.5%, respectively, see Figure 10).

Male and female students saw similar drops this fall in undergraduate enrollment (about -3.5%). Male enrollment declines of -3.5% were smaller than last fall’s (-6.0%), particularly at community colleges (-14.1% last fall vs. -4.7% this fall), whereas female enrollment fell more than last fall (-1.8%), most notably at public four-year colleges (+0.3% last fall vs. -2.3% this fall). Cumulatively, male enrollment decline during the pandemic is now -9.3%, four percentage points steeper than the female decline of -5.3%, over the two years from 2019 to 2021 (see Figures 2 and 18).

Undergraduate enrollment fell for every age group. Declines were steepest among 25- to 29-year-olds (-8.3%). Traditional college-age enrollment (18-24) declined across all sectors (-2.6% for age 18-20; -3.1% for age 21-24). Dual enrollment of high school students increased 0.7 percent nationally after a 3.6 percent drop last fall, but the numbers still deteriorated at community colleges (-0.2% vs. -5.3% last fall), which enroll roughly two-thirds of all dual enrollees (see Figure 17).

Bachelor’s degree-seeking students in the top three common majors (business, health care, and liberal arts) all declined this fall. Notably, students enrolled in healthcare fields have reversed their gains from last fall (+2.5% last fall vs. -3.6% this fall) (see Figure 21).

The next update to the Stay Informed with the Latest Enrollment Information research that tracks the impact of COVID-19 on postsecondary enrollments is scheduled for late November. As with all Stay Informed releases, today’s data are preliminary and subject to change as more colleges submit their data to the Clearinghouse.

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 fall 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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