The most notable numbers from the study, which covered all but 3% of Title IV degree-granting colleges and universities, were in the differences among races, gender and age:

Asian-Americans in the 2020 cohort led the way with 88% persisting, followed by white students at nearly 80%. Latinx persistence rose 0.7% after falling dramatically in 2019 but still fell short of the two leaders at 69%. Black students were at 65.5% and posted the second-most transfers among those who persisted (10.3%) behind whites (10.6%).
The most challenged group were Native Americans, who persisted at just 60%, with only half of students being retained by their institutions. "Not only do Native American students have the lowest persistence and retention rates, but they also experienced the greatest one-year decline of any group," Clearinghouse authors noted.
As for gender, women outpaced men by 2.6%. More men who persisted chose to transfer out than women.
While persistence remained largely level for both the 20-and-under group and those 25-and-over, there were sizable increases from those ages 21-24 on persistence (+4.0%) and retention (+3.5%).

Among the various institutions, four-year colleges and universities saw a dramatic decline in retention (-2.6%) and also slightly lost ground on persistence from 2019. They did, however, see gains with part-time students who remained in higher education, including a 3% jump in persistence. Two-year institutions also struggled to make it back to pre-pandemic levels but saw a 2% bump in persistence among full-timers and a 3.5% increase among part-timers.

Instant Insights /

COVID comeback? 2020 college starters saw slight rise in persistence, according to report

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