Community College Enrollment & Other Mobility Trends in Fall 2023

The Fall 2023 Transfer and Progress report revealed signs of recovery in transfer enrollment from the pandemic. An increase in community college students transferring to four-year institutions resulted in upward transfer enrollment gains that have not been seen since the start of the pandemic.

When it comes to age and ethnicity, younger college students progressed the most. Most gains were seen among students 20 or younger, Hispanic, and those from lower-income neighborhoods.

“We saw a 7.7% increase in upward transfer, the first sign of recovery after pandemic-related declines. We are seeing higher increases in upward transfer among students from low-income neighborhoods, especially for those transferring to highly selective institutions,” said Sarah Karamarkovich, Ph.D. and Research Associate at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Overall transfer enrollment is up from 12.5% last year. In addition to the upward transfers that drove the increase, lateral transfers grew by 4.3%. 

There’s more good news post-pandemic. The size of the 2022 cohort of entering community college students grew to 851,000, up 7 percent compared to the 2020 cohort, which experienced severe declines at the onset of the pandemic. Additionally, despite large enrollment declines for 2020 starters, their upward transfer rates rose above pre-pandemic levels in their second and third years of enrollment (+1.4 pp and +1.3 pp compared to the 2019 cohort, respectively). For 2021 starters, second-year upward transfer rates declined compared to the 2020 cohort (-0.4 pp to 5.7%) but rates remained above pre-pandemic levels (+1.1 pp).

For the complete Transfer and Progress report, visit nscresearchcenter.org/transfer-and-progress.

“We saw a 7.7% increase in upward transfer, the first sign of recovery after pandemic-related declines. We are seeing higher increases in upward transfer among students from low-income neighborhoods, especially for those transferring to highly selective institutions.”

Sarah Karamarkovich, Ph.D.
Research Associate, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center

Additional Resources:

• Read the Fall 2023 Transfer and Progress Report

• Visit the Clearinghouse’s Research Center