After counting college enrollment drops all semester, this week the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released its final report of the year.
The official tally: Higher ed enrollments declined 2.5 percent overall in fall 2020. That translates to nearly half a million fewer students attending college than in fall 2019.
The enrollment decline—twice as high as from 2018 to 2019—was driven by drops among undergraduates. Freshman enrollment declined 13.1 percent, and community college enrollment declined 10.1 percent. Meanwhile, graduate enrollment actually increased 3.6 percent.
