Community College Enrollment Declines Due To Sector Changes Data of international student enrollment for the 2023 2024 academic year show that community colleges saw an 8.3 increase, while freshmen enrollment at 4 year colleges and universities had a decline of 0.4 percent. Postsecondary enrollment has struggled to recover to pre pandemic levels, significantly impacting community colleges, which saw a steep decline of over 772,592 students—a 16% drop in enrollment from fall 2019 to fall 2022.
Community College Enrollment Declines Due To Sector Changes Fortunately, enrollment data from spring 2023 suggest that students are starting to come back to community colleges, though total numbers are well below pre pandemic levels. the enrollment decline is a crisis for many community colleges, which rely on tuition revenue to fund their operations. As shown in the map below, community colleges in 21 states experienced double digit enrollment declines from 2019 to 2023 as they and their students struggled through the pandemic and its aftermath. Now the steep enrollment declines are over and according to a new report from s&p global ratings, despite the end of extra covid era federal aid, the finances of the 199 community colleges. But even as employers nationwide are struggling to find qualified workers, community college enrollment is barely beginning to recover from a two decade steady decline and an even steeper.
Community College Enrollment Declines In The Fall 2021 Now the steep enrollment declines are over and according to a new report from s&p global ratings, despite the end of extra covid era federal aid, the finances of the 199 community colleges. But even as employers nationwide are struggling to find qualified workers, community college enrollment is barely beginning to recover from a two decade steady decline and an even steeper. Community college enrollment has plummeted by nearly two fifths since 2010, a staggering decline in a sector with the potential to offer the greatest value in american higher education. In fact, the latest fall 2023 data show that the growth in undergraduate enrollment is the highest at community colleges. the upward trend is reassuring, but the gain hasn’t yet made up for the steep declines during the pandemic: the sector still has around 650,000 students fewer than fall 2019. Community colleges are seeing their first enrollment growth since even before the pandemic, but it is not enough to turn around the longer term decline. between 2018 and 2021, enrollment declined by 949,800 or 17.6%, with the vast majority of this decline coming since the pandemic’s onset. First time community college enrollment peaks during increasing unemployment (gray bars), in contrast to four year sectors. community colleges absorb excess labor supply, provide training when opportunity costs are low.