Total postsecondary enrollment in the United States grew 1.0% in fall 2025, reaching 19.4 million students and surpassing prepandemic levels, according to new figures released Thursday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
File photo
The growth was driven primarily by increases at community colleges and public four-year institutions, while private colleges saw enrollment declines, marking what researchers called a significant shift in where students are choosing to pursue higher education.
"Overall enrollment is up slightly, but the real story is the shift between sectors," said Dr. Matthew Holsapple, senior director of research at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. "Community colleges and public universities are gaining ground, while private colleges are down – a clear departure from the broad-based growth of recent years."
Undergraduate enrollment increased 1.2%, led by a 3.0% jump at community colleges and a 1.4% increase at public four-year institutions. In contrast, private nonprofit colleges saw undergraduate enrollment decline 1.6%, while for-profit institutions dropped 2.0%.
Graduate enrollment remained essentially flat, declining 0.3%.
The enrollment patterns reflect students increasingly prioritizing affordability, flexibility and career relevance over traditional degree pathways, according to higher education analysts.
Community colleges saw particularly strong growth in short-term credentials tied to workforce training. Undergraduate certificate programs grew 28.3% since fall 2021, now enrolling 752,000 students. Certificate and associate degree programs grew 1.9% and 2.2% respectively this fall, outpacing bachelor's degree program growth of 0.9%.
