Current Term Enrollment Estimates Spring 2023

Community college enrollment grew slightly this spring (up 0.5%, 22,000 students from spring 2022), after large declines in the previous two years. A growing number of younger students, primarily dual enrolled high school students and freshmen, contributed to the uptick in community college enrollment. Undergraduates at public and private nonprofit four-year institutions are still declining but at slower rates (-0.5% and -0.2%, respectively). After pandemic-driven declines began to level off last fall, overall undergraduate enrollment remained stable for the spring term as well (-0.2%, -25,000 students). In comparison, graduate-level enrollment is faring more poorly (-2.2%, -68,000 students from spring 2022), eroding pandemic-associated gains. Total postsecondary enrollment remains well below pre-pandemic levels, down about 1.09 million students overall and about 1.16 million undergraduates alone, compared to spring 2020. Freshmen grew 9.2 percent from spring 2022, building on a similar increase reported last year. Percent increases in spring freshmen are based on a far smaller scale than fall, however. Community colleges account for the majority of spring freshmen (53.9%) and had the largest increases of any sector (+12.4%). The community college freshman class is now 7.0 percent larger than spring 2020 levels. Undergraduate-level students are shifting the types of credentials they pursue, with enrollments in bachelor’s degree programs falling more steeply than associate’s (-1.4%, -114,000 students versus -0.4%, -15,000 students) and other undergraduate credentials showing enrollment growth (+4.8%, +104,000 students). Graduate-level enrollment drops are almost entirely due to losses in master’s programs (-57,000 students). The report is accompanied by a data appendix for download, detailing enrollment by major field and state-level enrollment by institution sector.