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Dear Commons Community,

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center just issued its latest enrollment estimate for American higher education and shows that the overall college student population dropped by 1.3 percent this fall after slipping 1.5 percent last fall and 1.8 percent in the fall of 2012. However, there are differences among the various sectors.

In fall 2014, enrollments decreased among two-year public institutions (-6.0 percent) and four-year for-profit institutions (-0.4 percent). Enrollments increased among four-year public institutions (+2.2 percent) and four-year private non-profit institutions (+1.6 percent). It should be noted, however, that part of the decrease in two-year public enrollments is due to institutions being reclassified in IPEDS as four-year institutions. Without these reclassifications, two-year public enrollments would have decreased by 3.4 percent and the growth in four-year public enrollments would have been 0.4 percent. Taken as a whole, public sector enrollments declined by 1.5 percent this fall.

Enrollments declined in 39 states and the District of Columbia. They were up in 11 states, with the largest jumps in New Hampshire at 19.9 percent and Arizona, at 5.2 percent. The biggest declines were among students older than 24.

Tony