Initial data shows that the number of undergraduate students is increasing by 3% despite a decline in new students

Diving certificate:

• Student enrollment increased this fall For the second time in a rowa 3% increase compared to similar early fall 2023 data, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
• Enrollment increased 1.9% in bachelor’s degree programs and 4.3% in associate degree programs. While there were increases for all types of degrees, the number of applicants for bachelor’s certificates rose the most at 7.3%.
• However, enrollment among freshmen fell 5%, the first decline since the decline at the start of the pandemic. Most of that decline was due to declines in under-18 enrollment, an indicator of students attending college straight out of high school, the clearinghouse said.

Insight into the dive:

In fall 2023, the number of students increased for the first time since then the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemicsaid the clearinghouse.

Enrollment this semester has been largely good despite numerous headwinds, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June to ban student admissions based on race and the botched rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the 2024-25 academic year . But the drop in college enrollment warns of potential cracks in the K-12 student pipeline.

“It is shocking to see such a significant decline in new students, the first decline since the beginning “The pandemic in 2020, when they dropped by almost 10%,” Doug Shapiro, the research center’s executive director, said in a statement.

Overall, undergraduate growth is being driven by students who have previously started their first year of college, researchers said. The Clearinghouse includes in this group both dual-enrolled high school students and those who left college without a degree or certificate.

Last spring, the clearinghouse noted an increase in re-enrollment among students who had previously left college without getting a degree. Researchers also recently found that persistence rates among college freshmen have increased reached its highest level in a decade.

“Both trends appear to be continuing this fall.” Shapiro said during a call with reporters Tuesday.

Of the 42 states with sufficient data for analysis, only New Hampshire, West Virginia and Missouri saw student enrollment declines. And undergraduate enrollment increased at all types of institutions, although some performed better than others.

At public baccalaureate colleges, which primarily award associate degrees, enrollment increased 5.2%. Non-profit four-year colleges saw a 4.9% increase, and enrollment at public two-year colleges increased 4.7%.

Public and private four-year non-profit institutions experienced slower student growth, at 2.2% and 1.4%, respectively.

Male and female undergraduate enrollments increased at similar rates: 2.1% and 2.3%, respectively.

Hispanic, Black, Asian and Multiracial populations all experienced at least a 4% year-over-year increase in student enrollment. White undergraduate students were the only racial or ethnic group to see a decline, down 0.6%.

The preliminary data set includes approximately 52% of Title IV degree-granting institutions reporting to the Clearinghouse. Together, almost 9 million students are enrolled at the institutions. The clearinghouse’s final registration report is expected in January.

Universities have long been anticipating an expected decline in the number of high school graduates due to falling birth rates. Meanwhile, first-year enrollment has actually declined across all racial and ethnic groups, the clearinghouse said.

First-year enrollment fell the most for white students, by 11.4%, followed by a 6.6% decline for multiracial students and 6.1% for black students. The number of Asian and Hispanic college freshmen fell 2.8% and 1.4%, respectively, which the clearinghouse described as “relatively subdued.”

Shapiro said this is the first time the clearinghouse has disaggregated enrollment data for 18-year-olds.