In an academic year roiled by the pandemic, with many schools using remote or hybrid models, colleges and universities posted an unexpected increase in undergraduate credential earners, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC).
The report, which focused on the 2020-21 school year, found that after staying flat during the first year of the pandemic, the number of undergraduate credential earners increased by roughly 39,000, to 3.7 million. This 1.1% improvement matched the average rate of growth for the academic years between 2012 and 2019. The report is based on data from institutions representing 97% of post-secondary enrollments in America.
“It was pleasantly surprising to see the rebound to the pre-pandemic level of growth,” said Dr. Mikyung Ryu, director of research publications for the NSCRC and an author of the report. 
Almost 97% of the increase was made up of non-first-time graduates, such as students earning bachelor’s degrees after having achieved associate’s degrees, or getting additional professional certificates. These earners of “stacked credentials” increased by almost 4%, the largest one-year jump in nearly a decade.
This increase in multiple credential earners was driven by the economic conditions of the pandemic, according to Dr. Katharine Meyer, a post-doctoral research associate at Brown University who has studied credential stacking. Due to concerns about permanent unemployment, many states increased funding to support residents who wanted to obtain additional credentials in order to change industries.
However, Ryu believes the increase in stacked credential earners obscures a concerning trend for others. The number of first-time graduates failed to increase meaningfully after a pandemic decline of almost 1% in 2019-2020.
“These are the students who would have otherwise earned associate’s degrees or certificates from community colleges,” said Ryu.
