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Enrollment Change From Previous Year, by Sector, Fall 2015 to Spring 2017

Almanac 2017 August 13, 2017

Four-year public institutions were the only sector with consistently positive growth over the past two years, though their overall enrollment increase was slight. For-profit institutions, which faced increased government scrutiny and closures, had the steepest enrollment drop.

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Sector	Fall 2015	Spring 2016	Fall 2016	Spring 2017
All sectors	–1.7%	–1.3%	–1.4%	–1.5%

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Return to the Almanac home page, or go to the Profession, Students, Finance, or States section. To purchase a copy of the Almanac in print or as a downloadable interactive PDF, visit the Chronicle Store.

Sector	Fall 2015	Spring 2016	Fall 2016	Spring 2017
All sectors	–1.7%	–1.3%	–1.4%	–1.5%
4-year public institutions	0.8%	1.0%	0.2%	0.2%
4-year private nonprofit institutions	–0.3%	0.7%	–0.6%	–0.2%
4-year for-profit institutions	–13.7%	–9.3%	–14.5%	–10.1%
2-year public institutions	–2.9%	–3.3%	–2.6%	–2.5%

Note: The chart shows the 12-month percentage change (fall to fall and spring to spring) for each term over the past two years. Data are limited to degree-granting institutions in the United States that are eligible to participate in Title IV federal student-aid programs. Ninety-seven percent of the enrollment covered in this chart was drawn from figures submitted by such institutions; the remainder was estimated. International students were excluded. More data are available at nscresearchcenter.org.

Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, “Current Term Enrollment Estimates — Spring 2017”

A version of this article appeared in the August 18, 2017, issue.

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