Community college enrollment, buoyed by younger students and fresh interest in job-related programs, rose this spring for the first time in more than a decade, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The high cost of college, economic anxiety and the hot labor market may be leading students to reconsider how to get the most bang for their buck with post-secondary degrees.
“I think that students are increasingly looking towards programs and majors that they can see, and easily see, a direct link to the workforce,” Doug Shapiro, the research and executive director of National Student Clearinghouse, said on a call with reporters.
Driving the news: Years of steep declines hit community colleges across the country. Community college enrollment rose 0.5% from the year before, after falling 8.2% and 10.1% in 2022 and 2021.
Enrollment in public two-year colleges rose after the 2008 economic recession but started trending downwards in 2010 and plummeted during the pandemic, according to NSC data.
The majors at two-year institutions that saw increases this spring include Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services (9.7%), Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians (8.2%), Personal and Culinary Services (9.7%) and Transportation and Materials Moving (11.8%).
Overall postsecondary enrollment still lags heavily behind pre-pandemic levels.
Enrollment in bachelor’s degree programs fell 1.4% this spring, compared to a 0.4% drop in associate degree program enrollment.
While the pandemic fast-tracked the trend of declining college enrollment, undergraduate enrollment stabilized during the spring, dropping just 0.2%.
Undergraduate computer science programs at four-year institutions hit their highest growth rate in three years, 11.6%, while two-year institutions saw computer science enrollment soar to above pre-pandemic levels.
Graduate-degree enrollment fell 2.2% from spring 2022.
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