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Associated Press
26-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
More Than 86% of College Freshmen Return for Their Second Semester
New Report Provides First Look at Students Returning and Transferring for Their Spring Semester HERNDON, VA / ACCESS Newswire / June 26, 2025 / The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported today that over 86 percent of the college freshman class of 2023 returned for their second semester. This represents the second-highest persistence rate in the past nine years. The 2025 Persistence and Retention report is the latest in a series that tracks the percentage of students that stay in college after their freshman year, and now, for the first time, includes data on the percentage of students that remain in college after their first semester. The report also finds that 83.7 percent of students returned to their same institution for their second semester. The results indicate that 13.6 percent of 2023 freshmen were no longer enrolled by the spring term and 2.6 percent of students had transferred institutions by the spring. 'We've been focused on second fall persistence for years, but that's too long to wait for many institutions, who seek earlier indicators of student success,' said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. 'Today's report helps schools focus on supporting students who are at risk sooner. This is especially important for part-time students, older students and those who start at community colleges, where first spring persistence rates are lower.' Persistence refers to continued enrollment in college, whether at the same or a different institution. The report now tracks this measure at two key points: first spring persistence (enrollment in the spring term immediately following the first fall) and second fall persistence (enrollment in the second fall term). Retention refers to the same milestones, but specifically captures continued enrollment at the student's starting institution. More college freshmen returning for a second year: The percentage of 2023 freshmen who returned for a second year of college - the second fall persistence rate for the 2023 cohort - is 77.6 percent, and the percentage of 2023 freshmen who returned to their same institution for the second year - the second fall retention rate - is 69.5 percent. These rates represent increases of 0.3 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, from the previous year's freshman class. Both metrics have now risen for four consecutive years, marking their highest levels in the past nine years. Part-time students face substantial disadvantage: Among fall 2023 starters, first spring persistence was 67.4 percent for part-time students, compared to 92.1 percent for their full-time peers. Similarly, second fall persistence was 53.2 percent for part-time starters, versus 84.4 percent for full-time starters. The magnitude of this gap varies significantly by institutional sector. The private for-profit 4-year sector reported the smallest differences in persistence rates between part-time and full-time students (7.8 percentage points in first spring persistence and 11.6 percentage points in second fall persistence). In contrast, the private nonprofit 4-year sector exhibited the largest disparities, with gaps of 24.9 percentage points for first spring and 38.2 percentage points for second fall persistence. Younger students continued to persist and be retained at higher rates: Among full-time starters in the Fall 2023 cohort, those aged 20 or younger had a spring persistence rate of 93.2 percent, compared to 79.0 percent for those aged 21-24 and 72.6 percent for those 25 or older. First spring retention rates followed a similar pattern: 90.6 percent for students 20 or younger, 77.6 percent for those 21-24, and 71.4 percent for those 25 or older. Computer science persistence and retention decline an outlier: Second fall persistence and retention rates increased for students pursuing bachelor's degrees in 9 of the top 10 most popular major fields, with Visual and Performing Arts showing notable gains (persistence: 88.1%, +1.0 percentage points; retention: 80.9%, +1.1 percentage points). Computer Science was the only top 10 major field to experience a decline in both second fall persistence and retention rates (persistence: 86.1%, -0.8 percentage points; retention: 78.1%, -0.8 percentage points). This pattern also held for first spring persistence and retention rates, where all top 10 major fields saw stability or growth-except for Computer Science, which saw small declines. The Persistence and Retention report series examines early college enrollment outcomes for beginning postsecondary students, tracking both first spring and second year persistence and retention rates. Students are considered persisted if they remain enrolled at any institution and retained if they remain at their starting institution-either in the spring term following initial enrollment (first spring) or in the fall of their second academic year (second fall). In both timeframes, students who complete a credential before the applicable term are also included in the corresponding rates. The report is designed to help institutions understand trends and patterns in this important early success indicator, and identify disparities by institutional type, state, degree level, starting enrollment intensity, major field, and student demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and race and ethnicity. All data prior to the 2023-24 academic year reflect any newer and additional data that participating institutions have reported to the National Student Clearinghouse since last year's publication. About the National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™ The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes. To learn more, visit CONTACT: National Student Clearinghouse [email protected] SOURCE: National Student Clearinghouse press release
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
College Enrollment Increases Again, Now Approaches Pre-Pandemic Level
Total college enrollment increased again this spring to an estimated 18.4 million students. The nation's colleges and universities received good news on the enrollment front today. Total college enrollment grew by 3.2% this spring compared to spring 2024 and now stands at about 18.4 million students nationally, just .9% less than the pre-pandemic level of spring, 2020. This year's gain is equivalent to about 562,000 students. The latest numbers are contained in the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center's Current Term Enrollment Estimates Spring 2025 report. Undergraduate enrollment grew 3.5%, reaching 15.3 million, which is about 2.4% (378,000 students) fewer than the pre-pandemic level. Enrollment in graduate programs increased 1.5% (46,000 more students) compared to last year. Graduate enrollment now totals slightly more than 3.1 million, 7.2% higher than in 2020. That cumulative gain represents 209,000 more graduate students than the pre-pandemic number. While undergraduate enrollment increased across all higher education sectors, community colleges experienced the largest growth at 5.4%, or 288,000 more students, compared to last spring. Undergraduate enrollment increased 3.3% at private for-profit schools, 2.7% at public, four-year institutions, and 1.9% at nonprofit, private colleges. Historically Black Colleges and Universities enjoyed very positive numbers, with undergraduate enrollment increasing by 4.6%. Undergraduate certificate program enrollment increased by 4.8%, propelling it to a 20% higher level than in 2020. But other types of degrees increased as well, with enrollments in associate degree programs growing by 6.3% and bachelor's programs up 2.1%. Institutions focused on vocational/trade programs saw particularly strong gains. High vocational public two-year schools grew enrollment by 11.7%, or 91,000 students. Enrollment at these trade-focused institutions has increased almost 20% since the spring of 2020 and now comprises 19.4% of public two-year enrollment. 'This is great news for community colleges, and especially for those with strong vocational programs,' said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, in a news release. 'Four-year colleges can also feel good about higher numbers of undergraduates this spring, but their growth rates are slower.' The number of students enrolled in Master's programs grew by 1.1% over last spring, while doctoral enrollment was up 1.2%, and enrollments in first-professional programs increased 3.2%. Male and female students showed similar increases in undergraduate enrollment of 3.2% and 3.3% respectively. All four of the largest racial/ethnic groups saw enrollments grow at the undergraduate level, led by a 10.3 % increase among Black students, followed by gains of 6.7% for Asians, 5.3% for Hispanics, and 1.8% for white students. The increase for white undergraduates was noteworthy because it marked the first time since the pandemic that their spring enrollment has grown. Enrollment of international undergraduates, on the other hand, was down by almost 12% over last year. At the graduate level, Black students again had the largest percentage gain at 8.7%, followed by Hispanics (7.1%), Asians (6.2%) and white students (1.1%). International graduate students declined in number, but only by .4%. Another encouraging sign was that the number of undergraduates in their twenties increased this spring (+3.2% for students 21-24 and +5.9% for students 25-29), beginning a recovery in enrollments after consistent decreases among this age group since the pandemic. More than half of the total undergraduate gains occurred in two traditionally large fields of study — business majors and health professions, which saw enrollment increases of 4.8% and 6.3%, respectively. Biological sciences (4.1%), engineering (6.4%), and public administration (7.2%) all posted healthy increases, while the category of liberal arts, general studies, and humanities suffered a 3% decline. Shaprio said that one of the bigger surprises in the latest data is that the number of computer science majors appears to have peaked after several semesters of significant growth. The enrollment gains come at a crucial time for the nation's colleges and universities as they try to manage the difficult combination of funding cuts, a tumultuous federal policy environment and the upcoming demographic cliff, which will see the number of high school graduates decline steadily over the next decade. Institutions will try to lock in these solid enrollment gains through renewed efforts to improve student retention, at the same time they pull out all the stops to recruit new students for the upcoming fall semester. The NSCRC is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. It collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations to gather accurate longitudinal data that can be used to guide educational policy decisions. NSCRC analyzes data from 3,600 postsecondary institutions, which represented 97% of the nation's postsecondary enrollment in Title IV degree-granting institutions in the U.S., as of 2020.
