Enrollment rates have largely fallen during the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for two-year and community colleges, according to two recent reports from The College Board and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The College Board report, “College Enrollment and Retention in the Era of COVID,” examined how the pandemic affected Fall 2020 enrollment plans for the high school Class of 2020 and retention rates for the high school Class of 2019. The report is based on research from a sample of almost 10 million students.
“Overall, we document a 6.1% decline in college enrollment rates due to the pandemic, which amounts to about 120,000 fewer recent high school graduates enrolling in college right after high school graduation compared to last year,” said Dr. Jessica Howell, vice president for research at the College Board and co-author of the report. “The enrollment declines are a bit smaller among students in the four-year sector and a bit larger among students in the two-year sector.”
Class of 2020 enrollment rates – after adjusting for demographics, academic preparation and high school characteristics – at public two-year colleges fell the most, by 11.8%, according to the College Board report, while public four-year schools only saw a 2.8% decline.
“Analyses of student trajectories into different postsecondary sectors illuminate the most novel findings,” the College Board report noted. “Among students in the two-year sector, the pandemic most adversely affected the college trajectories of first-generation, underrepresented minority, and lower-achieving students from higher-poverty communities and high schools.”
Black students had the largest decrease in enrollment rates at public two-year colleges, with 15.5%, followed by 14.9% for Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students and 14.8% for Hispanic students, according to the College Board report. This stands in contrast with public and private nonprofit four-year schools, where white students had the largest decline, 4.5%, followed by 3.7% for American Indian or Alaska Native students and 3.5% for Asian students.
The enrollment story for the Class of 2020 is quite different among students in the four-year sector, the College Board report noted, “where some of the largest enrollment rate declines occurred among white and Asian students, students with college-educated parents and strong academic achievement from more affluent communities and high schools.”
