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After acknowledging that data issued last fall showing a decline in freshman enrollment was impacted a by methodological error, this week the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) released revised and more complete data, which shows that last fall freshman enrollment actually grew by 5.5% (130,000), particularly at community colleges, which added 63,000 (7.1%) freshmen.
The “Current Term Enrollment Estimates” (CTEE) report shows that total postsecondary enrollment is up 4.5% to approximately 19 million students, which is above pre-pandemic levels. Undergraduate enrollment is almost 16 million, only 1% below 2019 levels. Undergraduate enrollment increased across all sectors. Associate and bachelor’s degree programs increased 6.3% and 2.9%, respectively.
A point noted in last fall’s data was that the number of 18-year-old freshman saw the biggest decline, particularly at public institutions that serve low-income students. The main reason leading to the methodological error was that there was a mislabeling of freshmen as dual-enrolled students (high school students taking college courses). This led to a number of freshmen not being counted. NSCRC said it has addressed this methodology to avoid future errors.
The newly released data showed 18-year-old freshmen had an enrollment increase of 3.4%.
“We found that traditional age freshmen grew at the highest rates among those from the lowest neighborhood income levels,” said Dr. Doug Shapiro, executive director of the NSCRC.
Even with more students now being counted as freshmen, dual enrollment (students 17 or under) continues to show increases (10.2%). Dr. Richard Finger, vice president for enrollment management at Lehman College, a four-year institution in the City University of New York System, said over half the incoming first-year students are bringing in credits upon entry.
“What we’ve learned is that while these students have shown their ability to excel academically while in high school and earned these credits, they still need to be supported as first-year students, particularly in their first semester,” said Finger.
Enrollment growth at community colleges continues to be notable, with public two-year institutions showing a 5.8% increase, but they remain below 2019 levels. Dr. Brian R. Mitra, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at Queensborough Community College (QCC) in New York City, who was previously interviewed by Diverse about the NSCRC report last fall, said the college did see an increase in new student enrollment, but that included transfers and readmits. The current NSCRC data aligns with what QCC is seeing, which is not as many 18-year-old, first-time college students.
“It’s not relying on the high schools anymore; it really is being creative in terms of your enrollment strategies, populations perhaps that were underserved, and also looking at those career changers,” said Mitra. “We have seen the growth of older students and of part-time students. Students are coming, but they want to come on their own terms.”Â
Mitra said as of fall 2023, 60% of the student population at QCC were full-time and 40% were part-time. He said community colleges must continue to develop programming to support part-time students.
NSCRC data shows enrollment of students 25 and older continues. Those 25-29 increased by 6.1% and 30 and over increased by 6.8%.
Public four-year institutions have risen above pre-pandemic levels after a 3.2% growth in fall 2024. Private non-profit four-year institutions increased by 4.5% and remain above 2019 level. Finger said overall enrollment at Lehman, which serves a minority majority student population, has increased since 2022.
“We are seeing a growing number of students between 19 and 21, who are coming to start their first year in college after taking some time off,” said Finger. “The slight growth we’ve seen in our first-year students, which is probably 2.5 or 3% over the last two years, has been in more of a non-traditional first-year student.”
Lehman has made a deliberate decision to restore recruitment efforts to pre-pandemic levels. This includes in-person presence at high schools in the Bronx, Manhattan and lower Westchester. The college has also updated its approach to academic advising and refreshed the curriculum in several programs.
The enrollment numbers for Black and Hispanic students continues to increase for the third consecutive year. After four years of declines, white students showed a small increase. Shapiro noted continued increases among freshmen who decline to report their race.
“That means that the remaining details about how many freshmen we’re seeing in each of these specific categories among students for whom we do have a race or ethnicity, we need to take those with a certain amount of caution,” said Shapiro.
Graduate enrollment grew to 3.2 million, an increase of 3.3%, with increases across racial and ethnic groups. Finger said Lehman, which has graduate programs, has seen an increase in enrollment.
Undergraduate certificate programs saw enrollment growth for the fourth consecutive year, with enrollment now 28.5% above 2019 levels. Shapiro noted that community colleges show a growth in programs with high vocational focus. Mitra concurred, saying that there are consistently returning students seeking new or additional credentials to either change or further careers.
“As institutions, we need to look at our programs,” Mitra said. “We need to be more mindful of who our part-time students are, so they can get the degree or credential they need.”