National college enrollment among first-year students plummets 16%

Photo | Grant Welker College of the Holy Cross in Worcester

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By Aliya Larkin

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the world of higher education are becoming clearer, as national enrollment is dropping among graduates and undergraduates, according to a new report from The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, looking at national fall semester data, through Sept. 24.

About a month into the fall semester, National Student Clearinghouse is reporting first-year student enrollment is down 16.1% from the previous fall semester. Overall undergraduate enrollment is 4% lower than last year. As for graduate enrollment, the previously reported 4% growth rate has fallen to 2.7%.

Nationally, community colleges are suffering the most with a 9.4% decrease in overall enrollment. Public four-year colleges are down 1.4% from last year and private nonprofit four-year colleges are down 2%. The only exception is for-profit, four-year colleges, which are running 3% higher than the previous year.

The drop broadly in enrollment nationally comes as colleges and would-be college students are grappling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Some colleges have gone to entirely virtual learning -- such as at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester -- while others like Worcester State University are offering a hybrid model. Quinsigamond Community College announced Friday it would continue online-only learning through the spring semester.