Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    A Culture of Cybersecurity
    Opportunities in the Hard Sciences
    Career Preparation
Sign In
Fresh Data

Fall’s Enrollment Decline Now Has a Final Tally. Here’s What’s Behind It.

By Dan Berrett December 17, 2020
enrollment-decline.jpg
Photo illustration by The Chronicle

Enrollment, the lifeblood of colleges, has been the subject of a steady stream of research briefs that have come out this fall. They’ve shown, month by month and in close to real time, a downward enrollment trend among colleges reporting to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Now the full picture is in.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

Enrollment, the lifeblood of colleges, has been the subject of a steady stream of research briefs that have come out this fall. They’ve shown, month by month and in close to real time, a downward enrollment trend among colleges reporting to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Now the full picture is in.

The latest survey, released on Thursday, shows that total enrollment across higher education is down 2.5 percent. The latest data release reflects virtually the entirety of the postsecondary institutions that report to the center, or about 3,600 colleges, representing 97 percent of the nation’s postsecondary enrollments in degree-granting institutions. But this top-line drop in enrollment masks a fair amount of variation, as some pockets of the sector have fared better than others. Here is a closer look at some of the diverging trajectories among institutions and students:

Undergraduates vs. graduates

The decrease in undergraduate enrollment was the primary driver of the overall decline across the sector. Enrollment among undergraduates dropped 3.6 percent, or by more than 560,000 students, from the fall of 2019. The most notable drop was among first-time freshmen, who declined 13.1 percent. Despite concerns about a slowing number of high-school graduates, that demographic trend was not a factor in college enrollment, according to Doug Shapiro, executive director of the center. “The recession did not affect high-school graduates at all this spring,” he said on a call with reporters, “but it did affect college-freshman enrollment.” While the latest report doesn’t disaggregate students by race and ethnicity, previous analyses by the center showed steep drops among first-time Black, Hispanic, and Native American students in particular.

Meanwhile, graduate enrollment went up by the same percentage, 3.6 percent, that undergraduate enrollment fell, but the actual growth in the number of students enrolled in graduate or professional programs, nearly 99,000, was smaller than the drop in the number of undergraduates. Public four-year institutions, which experienced a 4.6-percent increase in graduate enrollment, accounted for the majority of this growth.

Community colleges vs. for-profit institutions


Early indications were that community-college enrollment had taken a nosedive, which the latest report confirms. Public two-year colleges saw a 10.1-percent decline in enrollment, or more than 540,000 students. A 21-percent drop in freshman enrollment at these institutions contributed the most to the decline. Enrollment at for-profit four-year colleges, after fluctuating according to previous reports, rose 5.3 percent, though it reflected a smaller group of students overall — an increase to 789,888 from 749,885. Notably, the median age of undergraduates at for-profit colleges was 31, about a decade older than the median of students attending other types of institutions.

Men vs. women


The drop in enrollment of men was more than seven times that of women — 5.1 percent for men vs. 0.7 percent for women — continuing a long-running trend. At four-year public institutions, the difference was particularly striking: Nearly 57,000 fewer men were in class this year compared with last fall, but there were over 71,000 more women.

Drops by discipline


One of the most surprising findings in the data, said Shapiro, was the decline in enrollment in some high-demand fields in community colleges, perhaps because some of the courses in those fields may be difficult to teach online. Students majoring in precision production dropped more than 18 percent, for example, while those majoring in mechanic and repair technologies, and in homeland security, law enforcement, and firefighting, fell by about 15 percent. At four-year colleges, the numbers of students majoring in English literature and language and foreign languages also fell, by more than 7 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Still, the news wasn’t all negative; other areas reported an upswing: Computer science and psychology each increased, by more than 5 percent and nearly 7 percent, respectively.

A version of this article appeared in the January 8, 2021, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Data Community Colleges
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
berrett-edletter-portrait.png
About the Author
Dan Berrett
Dan Berrett is a senior editor for The Chronicle of Higher Education. He joined The Chronicle in 2011 as a reporter covering teaching and learning. Follow him on Twitter @danberrett, or write to him at dan.berrett@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Harvard University
'Deeply Unsettling'
Harvard’s Battle With Trump Escalates as Research Money Is Suddenly Canceled
Photo-based illustration of a hand and a magnifying glass focusing on a scene from Western Carolina Universiy
Equal Opportunity
The Trump Administration Widens Its Scrutiny of Colleges, With Help From the Internet
Santa J. Ono, president of the University of Michigan, watches a basketball game on the campus in November 2022.
'He Is a Chameleon'
At U. of Michigan, Frustrations Grew Over a President Who Couldn’t Be Pinned Down
Photo-based illustration of University of Michigan's president Jeremy Santa Ono emerging from a red shape of Florida
Leadership
A Major College-President Transition Is Defined by an About-Face on DEI

From The Review

Illustration showing a stack of coins and a university building falling over
The Review | Opinion
Here’s What Congress’s Endowment-Tax Plan Might Cost Your College
By Phillip Levine
Photo-based illustration of a college building under an upside down baby crib
The Review | Opinion
Colleges Must Stop Infantilizing Everyone
By Gregory Conti
Photo illustration of Elon Musk and the Dome of the U.S. Capitol
The Review | Opinion
On Student Aid, It’s Congressional Republicans vs. DOGE
By Robert Gordon, Jordan Matsudaira

Upcoming Events

Ascendium_06-10-25_Plain.png
Views on College and Alternative Pathways
Coursera_06-17-25_Plain.png
AI and Microcredentials
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin