Enrollments Dropped 1.7 Percent This Spring From a Year Ago

College enrollment declined 1.7 percent this spring relative to spring 2018, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

That top-line data point masked key differences among types of colleges. The biggest year-over-year growth, 3.2 percent, was among four-year private nonprofits. The increase, however, can largely be attributed to the conversion of Grand Canyon University from for-profit to nonprofit status in 2018. By contrast, enrollment in the shrinking four-year for-profit sector fell even more sharply in the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019 than it had in the previous fall and spring.

Further evidence of these cross-sector dynamics could be seen in the changed destinations of students over 24, a group that regularly accounts for more than 80 percent of for-profit enrollments. These institutions saw a nearly 20-percent drop in that age group during the past year. Four-year private nonprofits experienced 5.9-percent growth in students in that age range.

Enrollments in four-year public institutions have experienced modest declines.

Dan Berrett writes about teaching, learning, the curriculum, and educational quality. Follow him on Twitter @danberrett, or write to him at dan.berrett@chronicle.com.