Undergraduate enrollment is increasing nationwide, but fewer people are attending college now than pre-pandemic. And, our local reporters dig into the temporary workaround now available for immigrant families trying to complete the FAFSA.

Are community colleges bouncing back?

“Undergraduates have finally turned the corner, it appears, after years of decline.”

Those are the words Doug Shapiro used to kick off a recent press call about a new National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report on undergraduate enrollment. For the first time since the pandemic, overall undergrad enrollment is up, with a 1.2% increase for fall 2023. Community colleges, which saw the biggest drops during the pandemic, increased enrollment 2.6% from last year.

Though the increase is promising, “we’re still in a deep hole,” said Shapiro, who is executive director of the Clearinghouse Research Center. Today, there are 18.4 million people enrolled in an undergraduate program in the United States, nearly a million fewer than five years ago.

There are many reasons why that’s the case, but what I think of when I see that number is colleges still have their work cut out for them marketing their programs as a worthy investment.

Or, as Molly Minta recently quoted a state lawmaker putting it more bluntly at a legislative hearing on enrollment declines: “If you own a business, your goal is to try to get people to come to your business.”

It’s possible in the coming years community colleges will continue to outpace four-year institutions when it comes to enrollment because of the “perceptual challenges” universities face in terms of costs and concerns about debt, Shapiro said.

When broken down by region, the Clearinghouse report shows western states had the biggest change in enrollment for 2023, with a 2.3% increase. Adam Echelman at our partner CalMatters explored the myriad of factors that played into California’s increase in community college enrollment late last year.

“These enrollment numbers reflect a lot of hard work by a lot of people,” an official from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office told Echelman. “They also indicate that our community continues to see the value of its local colleges.”

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Elsewhere on Open Campus

From North Carolina: UNC Greensboro recently announced it’s eliminating several programs, majors and minors due to enrollment declines and the resulting loss in revenue. Brianna Atkinson spoke with an assistant professor whose department is being phased out about what this means for her.

From Mississippi: What’s in a name? Molly Minta reported Mississippi University for Women would ask lawmakers this session to approve a new moniker to “bring a new light” to the university and increase enrollment, 40 years after going co-ed. But a week later, MUW walked the move back, citing a "strategic pause.”

From Texas: Sneha Dey reports a temporary workaround is now available for immigrant families who have been affected by glitches in the revamped FAFSA, though college counselors say it will lead to more work and confusion.

From Chicago: Lisa Kurian Philip spoke with three Chicago-area high school seniors affected by the FAFSA issue who fear they might not be able to afford college because of the glitch.

From our HBCU Student Journalism Network: Our fellows are exploring how issues look different on HBCU campuses versus predominantly white institutions. Skyler Winston spoke with a political science professor about political engagement on both kinds of campuses, while Dasia Williams interviewed a doctoral student of criminology to learn about policing differences at HBCUs and PWIs.

Some personal news

Our Open Campus network continues to grow. This month we announced four local newsrooms we are working with (Arizona Luminaria, Montana Free Press, the Salt Lake Tribune, and The Assembly) to produce in-depth higher ed stories.

And if you missed it earlier, we’ve expanded our Local Network with THE CITY in New York to write stories about CUNY, and WUNC to cover higher education in North Carolina.

Keep in touch

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