A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCR) demonstrates that undergraduate completion rates have fallen to numbers not seen in four years. It’s also the first time in ten years the number of students earning bachelor’s degrees has declined on a year-to-year basis.
First-time undergraduate earners made up 86% of the 58,800 drop in total credential earners, which “marks the largest decline in first-time graduates since 2012-13,” according to the report. Consequently, the 2.6 million first-time credential earners in the 2021-22 academic year equate to numbers from 2016-17, which means not only did numbers decline, but they also reverted back nearly five years.
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First-time associate and baccalaureate degree earners made up the largest drops with 7.6% and 2.4% drops, respectively. Interestingly, among first-time credential earners, first-time certificate earners saw the largest increase to date at 9% – or 42,000, continuing an upward trend since 2018-19. The number of certificate earners helped offset the declines experienced by students earning a traditional associate or bachelor’s degree for the first time.
“The pandemic’s impact on higher education has gone beyond the declining numbers of current students and is now showing up as a drop in the annual number of new graduates as well, taking it all the way back to the level of 2016-17.” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “This is a setback to those seeking higher postsecondary attainment rates, leaving the nation and many states falling further behind on goals for a highly educated workforce.”
Older students generated a huge decline in the number of first-time undergraduate earners. Those 24 and older made up a 36,000 drop, while those aged 24 and younger made up 19,000, which is only a 1% decline among that age group. However, certificate earnings increased across all age groups except those 50 years and older.
Graduates with a prior reward stabilized compared to last year’s numbers at 990,000.
