Community colleges, certificates shine as fall enrollment hits 3-year stride

Postsecondary enrollment is projected to increase by 2% this fall, marking a third-straight year of gains, according to preliminary numbers from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Undergraduate fall enrollment

Undergraduate fall enrollment grew 2.4%. Community colleges drove the most growth at 4%, while public four-year and private colleges posted modest gains of about 2% and 1%, respectively.

Enrollment growth for undergraduate certificates (6.6%) dwarfed that of associate (3.1%) and bachelor’s (1.2%) degrees.

“That’s good news all around, but especially for community colleges as students continue to gravitate towards vocational certificates and associate degrees, leaving less momentum for growth among bachelors’ seekers,” Doug Shapiro, executive director of the Research Center, said in a press release.

The major academic fields in which fall enrollment grew the most at the undergraduate two-year level were:

“Community colleges play a critical role in reframing how learners approach workforce preparation and help employers understand students’ talent journey,” Lisa Larson, CEO of the nonprofit Education Design Lab, said on The University Business Podcast.

(Note: The report did not differentiate fall enrollment changes at the undergraduate two-year level by credential. Specifically, the pursuit of an associate degree versus a certificate.)

Engineering, health professions and business fields experienced the strongest growth among undergraduate four-year students. Enrollment in computer and information science declined by 7.7%.

More on certificates: Non-degree credentials are surging. But the data is lagging

At the graduate level, the decline in enrollment in computer and information science was far worse, posting a 15% drop.

Overall graduate enrollment increased by 0.1%. Fall enrollment in master’s programs, which makes up about two-thirds of the graduate base, experienced a slight decline.

Demographic differences

Hispanic, Black and multiracial student enrollment has grown impressively over the past three years, especially at the graduate level (17%, 14% and 19%, respectively).

White student enrollment at the undergraduate level has declined, but it has grown modestly at the graduate level.

State growth

Early numbers show that 2023-2025 enrollment grew the most in Idaho (11.7%), North Carolina (9.5%), Oklahoma (9.5%), Kentucky (9.4%), Georgia (8.8%), and Mississippi (8.7%).

However, numbers were not yet available for California, Texas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Utah and seven other states.

These figures are subject to change as the Research Center finishes collecting all institutional data. The preliminary estimates in this report are based on findings from half of the total institutions that the Research Center will eventually collect.