Dr. Richard Finger
The “Current Term Enrollment Estimates” (CTEE) report shows that total postsecondary enrollment is up 4.5% to approximately 19 million students, which is above pre-pandemic levels. Undergraduate enrollment is almost 16 million, only 1% below 2019 levels. Undergraduate enrollment increased across all sectors. Associate and bachelor’s degree programs increased 6.3% and 2.9%, respectively.
A point noted in last fall’s data was that the number of 18-year-old freshman saw the biggest decline, particularly at public institutions that serve low-income students. The main reason leading to the methodological error was that there was a mislabeling of freshmen as dual-enrolled students (high school students taking college courses). This led to a number of freshmen not being counted. NSCRC said it has addressed this methodology to avoid future errors.
The newly released data showed 18-year-old freshmen had an enrollment increase of 3.4%.
“We found that traditional age freshmen grew at the highest rates among those from the lowest neighborhood income levels,” said Dr. Doug Shapiro, executive director of the NSCRC.
Even with more students now being counted as freshmen, dual enrollment (students 17 or under) continues to show increases (10.2%). Dr. Richard Finger, vice president for enrollment management at Lehman College, a four-year institution in the City University of New York System, said over half the incoming first-year students are bringing in credits upon entry.
“What we’ve learned is that while these students have shown their ability to excel academically while in high school and earned these credits, they still need to be supported as first-year students, particularly in their first semester,” said Finger.
