Undergraduate Enrollment Picks Up Steam

Inside Higher Ed

Liam Knox

May 22, 2024

Undergraduate enrollment increased by 2.5 percent this spring, according to a report out today from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. It’s the second spring in a row that enrollments have increased and it builds on last fall’s 1.2 percent bump, continuing a slow but steady path to recovery from a devastating nosedive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most notably, spring enrollment in bachelor’s programs is up for the first time in four years at both public and private nonprofit institutions—and the 2.3 percent average growth rate is higher than the fall’s, a rarity. First-year enrollment is up by 3.9 percent overall, though it fell by 1.5 percent at private nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduate enrollment was up by 3 percent this spring, reversing last year’s losses.

Community colleges led the way, as they did in the fall. Despite accounting for only a quarter of all postsecondary enrollment, they were responsible for nearly half of the growth, with a 4.7 percent increase over last spring.