The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Research Center recently published a preliminary update sharing an early look at fall 2023 postsecondary enrollment numbers. Researchers discovered that community college enrollment rose by approximately 4.4%, which accounted for most of the total undergraduate enrollment increase in fall 2023. In addition, undergraduate certificate programs are booming with 9.9% growth, compared to 3.6% for associate degrees and 0.9% for bachelor’s degrees.
A companion article in Inside Higher Ed noted that 40% of total community college enrollment growth came from learners in dual enrollment programs, continuing a trend from fall 2022. Here are more statistics and insights:
- Health care program enrollment is beginning to rebound after large declines from the pandemic, specifically among those seeking undergraduate certificates (+5.7%) and associate degrees (+4.4%).
- Trade-related programs of study such as mechanic and repair technology (+10.3%), precision production (+14.2%) and construction trades (+10.4%) saw continued growth in students enrolling in undergraduate certificate programs.
- Computer and information sciences enrollment grew by 11.9% for undergraduate certificate programs and 10.4% for associate degree programs.
- Black, Hispanic/Latino and Asian students drove most of the undergraduate enrollment growth this year, with these populations seeing enrollment increases of 2.1%, 4.2% and 4.0% respectively.
- Community colleges experienced an enrollment surge of for students from the lowest-income areas.
The NSC Research Center will release more fall 2023 postsecondary data in January.
