The number of college undergraduate students increased slightly in the fall 2023 semester, marking the first increase in enrollment since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
According to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, enrollment for undergraduate students increased by 2.1% in 2023, compared to the 2022-2023 school year when enrollment dropped by 1.1%. The increase is the first sign that college enrollment may be recovering after a yearslong decline accelerated by the onset of the pandemic and the move to remote instruction.
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The majority of the recovery could be attributed to a 4.4% increase in community college enrollment, which the center said accounted for 58.9% of the total increase in undergraduate students.
Additionally, enrollment in nondegree programs for undergraduates increased by 9.9%, significantly more than the 0.9% increase in bachelor's degree enrollment. Enrollment in associate's degree programs increased by 3.6%.
“This is good news for community colleges and for the growing numbers of continuing and returning students who had lost momentum from the start of the pandemic,” Douglas Shapiro, the executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, said in a statement.
But despite the overall increase in enrollment, freshman enrollment still declined 3.6%, which contrasted with a 4.6% increase from a year ago. At public universities, the decline in freshmen reached 6.9%, while private universities saw a freshman enrollment decline of 4.7%.
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"The initial recovery among freshmen last year appears to have stalled, as more 18-to 20-year-olds, especially at four-year institutions, are opting out," Shapiro said.
The center said that black, Hispanic, and Asian students helped account for a significant amount of the increase, while enrollment for white students declined by 0.9% at the undergraduate level and 1.9% at the graduate level. Additionally, freshman enrollment for white students dropped dramatically by 9.4%.