US Colleges See Rise in Undergrads

The number of undergraduate students in the United States increased by 2.5 percent in the spring semester of 2024, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, a US educational nonprofit.

This is the second time undergraduate enrollment has increased after several years of decline amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Last fall, undergraduate enrollment grew 1.2 percent, Erudera.com reports.

According to the report “Current Term Enrollment Estimates: Spring 2024” by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 55.7 percent of the increase is driven by growth in enrollment at community colleges.

The number of students at community colleges went up 4.7 percent (200,000 students) from the spring semester of 2023. Additionally, graduate enrollment also saw an improvement from the previous year, increasing by 3 percent this spring.

“Graduate enrollment fared even better than undergraduate enrollment this spring (+3.0 percent, +88,000), reversing last year’s losses. Forty-four states saw enrollment growth this spring,” the report states.

The report further reveals first-year enrollment increased faster than the overall number of undergraduates, up 3.9 percent compared to last year’s spring enrollment.

“Freshman enrollment grew at a faster rate this spring than overall undergraduate enrollment (+3.9% compared to spring 2023). This growth was strongest at community colleges (+6.2%, +14,000) and public PABs (+11.0%, +5,000),” the report reads.

A faster increase has been recorded in first-year female students, up 3.2 percent compared to first-year male students, whose enrollment increased by 2.2 percent.

Data indicate an increase in the number of undergraduate students in public and private nonprofit four-year colleges and universities and at Primarily Associate Degree Granting Baccalaureate Institutions (PABs). After some years of decline, enrollment in these institutions is up 1.2 percent, 1.9 percent, and 5.6 percent, respectively.

Universities and colleges in the US have also seen an improvement in the number of international students, continuing to recover from the record decrease in 2020. Over one million international students were enrolled in American universities and colleges in the 2022/23 academic year, a 12 percent increase from the previous year, meaning the number almost returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The Open Doors report released annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE) explained this was an increase of more than 100,000 students over 2021/22.

According to an analysis by HolonIQ, a global impact intelligence platform, the number of international students studying in the US could reach somewhere between 1.3 and 2.8 million students by 2034.