Enrollment rose at U.S. universities last fallExBulletin

Students walk across the University of Maryland campus. A new set of data shows that college enrollment in the United States has exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The Washington Post/via Getty Images .

toggle captionThe Washington Post/via Getty Images

College enrollment in the United States increased for the first time last fall to surpass pre-pandemic levels, according to new figures released today.

In undergraduate and graduate programs, total enrollment increased 4.5 percent, or 817,000 students, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

These numbers provided good news to colleges worried about the Biden administration's botched overhaul of the federal student aid program known as the FAFSA, and reports showing many Americans questioning the value of a degree university.

Among new freshmen in fall 2024, enrollment increased 5.5%, or 130,000 students, according to the data.

Growth among freshmen “is driven by older freshmen, as 18-year-olds are still below their 2019 numbers,” Doug Shapiro, the center’s executive director, said in a statement.

The research center also corrected an error in data released last fall that erroneously showed first-year enrollment had declined, Shapiro said.

The latest figures come as a relief to higher education experts worried about the threat of a “demographic cliff” that is expected to lead to declining enrollments in coming years. This could cause problems for colleges in terms of lost revenue, and problems for the economy by creating a shortage of educated graduates.

“The fact that students are both seeing the value in college and enrolling is, I think, very good news,” said Tolani Birtton, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies higher education.

During the past few years of declining enrollment, many people in higher education were asking the question, “Will higher education ever recover?” » said Britton. “And what we’ve seen is that the answer to that question is, in some ways, yes.”

One particularly bright spot in the new numbers concerns community colleges, which have seen the biggest declines in enrollment during the pandemic. First-year enrollment at community colleges increased 7.1 percent last fall, while their overall enrollment increased 5.9 percent, or 325,000 students.

The positive trend in higher education is important because the U.S. economy is expected to create many more jobs “requiring some type of degree to be able to do these jobs adequately,” said Nicole Smith, a research professor and economist in chef at the Georgetown University Center. on education and the workforce.

It's not just a lack of workers with skills, Smith added. She is concerned about future labor shortages due to retirements, particularly in sales professions. More students seeking degrees or certifications could help fill gaps in the job market.

“We hope that by increasing enrollment, a number of people will be better prepared to fill these jobs in the future.”

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