National college completion rate ticks up to 61.1%

Inside Higher Ed

Natalie Schwartz

December 4, 2024

Dive Brief: 

• Completion rates ticked up to 61.1% for students who entered college in fall 2018, a 0.5 percentage-point increase compared to the previous cohort, according to data released Wednesday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

• The increase marks the highest six-year completion rate since 2007 when the clearinghouse began tracking the data. The growth was driven by fewer students stopping out of college, as well as completion gains among students who started at public two-year colleges.

• “Higher completion rates are welcome news for colleges and universities still struggling to regain enrollment levels from before the pandemic,” Doug Shapiro, the research center’s executive director, said in a statement dated Wednesday.

Dive Insight: 

 The completion rate data comes as colleges deal with a murky enrollment picture.

Overall undergraduate enrollment increased 3% in fall 2024 over last year, thanks largely to continuing and returning students, according to preliminary data released by the clearinghouse in October. However, the clearinghouse’s early data also found a concerning drop among 18-year-old first-year students, a proxy for students enrolling in college directly after high school.

An analysis Monday from the clearinghouse — which is based on a larger number of colleges reporting their enrollment figures than the October report — found that enrollment among this group declined 5% in fall 2024 compared with the year before. The National College Attainment Network commissioned the analysis.

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