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Fast Facts
Fast Facts

Enrollment
Question: Do you have inf ormation on postsecondary enrollment rates? Response: Enrollment in degree-granting institutions increased by 11 percent between 1990 and 2000. Between 2000 and 2010, enrollment increased 37 percent, f rom 15.3 million to 21.0 million. Much of the growth between 2000 and 2010 was in f ull-time enrollment; the number of f ull-time students rose 45 percent, while the number of part-time students rose 26 percent. During the same time period, the number of f emales rose 39 percent, while the number of males rose 35 percent. Enrollment increases can be af f ected both by population growth and by rising rates of enrollment. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds increased f rom 27.3 million to 30.7 million, an increase of 12 percent, and the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college rose f rom 35 percent in 2000 to 41 percent in 2010. In addition to enrollment in accredited 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities, about 539,000 students attended non-degree-granting, Title IV eligible, postsecondary institutions in f all 2009. T hese institutions are postsecondary institutions that do not award associate's or higher degrees; they include, f or example, institutions that of f er only career and technical programs of less than 2 years' duration. In recent years, the percentage increase in the number of students age 25 and over has been larger than the percentage increase in the number of younger students, and this pattern is expected to continue. Between 2000 and 2010, the enrollment of students under age 25 increased by 34 percent. Enrollment of students 25 and over rose 42 percent during the same period. From 2010 to 2020, NCES projects a rise of 11 percent in enrollments of students under 25, and a rise of 20 percent in enrollments of students 25 and over. Enrollment trends have dif f ered at the undergraduate and postbaccalaureate levels. Undergraduate enrollment generally increased during the 1970s, but dipped f rom 10.8 million to 10.6 million between 1983 and 1985. From 1985 to 1992, undergraduate enrollment increased each year, rising 18 percent bef ore stabilizing between 1992 and 1998. Undergraduate enrollment rose 37 percent between 2000 and 2010. Postbaccalaureate enrollment had been steady at about 1.6 million in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but rose 78 percent between 1985 and 2010. Since 1988, the number of f emales in postbaccalaureate programs has exceeded the number of males. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of male f ull-time postbaccalaureate students increased by 38 percent, compared with a 62 percent increase in the number of f emales. Among part-time postbaccalaureate students, the number of males increased by 17 percent and the number of f emales increased by 26 percent. T he percentage of American college students who are Hispanic, Asian/Pacif ic Islander, and Black has been increasing. From 1976 to 2010, the percentage of Hispanic students rose f rom 3 percent to 13 percent, the percentage of Asian/Pacif ic Islander students rose f rom 2 percent to 6 percent, and the percentage of Black students rose f rom 9 percent to 14 percent. During the same period, the percentage of White students f ell

f rom 83 percent to 61 percent. Race/ethnicity is not reported f or nonresident aliens, who made up 2 percent and 3 percent of total enrollment in 1976 and 2010, respectively. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center f or Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of Education Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001), Chapter 3 . Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date) 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 196. Enrollment, staf f , and degrees/certif icates conf erred in postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV programs, by level and control of institution, sex of student, type of staf f , and type of degree: Fall 2009 and 2009-10 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 200. Total f all enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by attendance status, sex, and age: Selected years, 1970 through 2020 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 206. Fall enrollment and number of degree-granting institutions, by control and af f iliation of institution: Selected years, 1980 through 2010 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 213. Enrollment rates of 18- to 24-year-olds in degree-granting institutions, by level of institution and sex and race/ethnicity of student: 1967 through 2010 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 214. Total undergraduate f all enrollment in degreegranting institutions, by attendance status, sex of student, and control of institution: 1967 through 2010 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 215. Total postbaccalaureate f all enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by attendance status, sex of student, and control of institution: 1967 through 2010 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 216. Total f all enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by state or jurisdiction: Selected years, 1970 through 2010 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 237. Total f all enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by level of student, sex, attendance status, and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1976 through 2010 2012, Projections of Education Statistics to 2020, Table 22. Actual and projected numbers f or enrollment in all degree-granting institutions, by sex and attendance status: Fall 1995 through f all 2020 2012, T he Condition of Education 2012: Immediate Transition to College 2012, T he Condition of Education 2012: Postbaccalaureate Enrollment 2012, T he Condition of Education 2012: Undergraduate Enrollment 2010, T he Condition of Education 2010: Racial/Ethnic Concentration in Higher Education Other Resources: (Listed by Release Date) 2012, Higher Education: Gaps in Access and Persistence Study 2011, Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS): BPS studies f ollow students who f irst begin their postsecondary education. 2011, Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2009; Graduation Rates, 2003 & 2006 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2009 2011, National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) examines the characteristics of students in postsecondary education, with special f ocus on how they f inance their education. 2010, T he Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): IPEDS is a system of surveys designed to collect data f rom all primary providers of postsecondary education.

2009, Web Tables: Choosing a Postsecondary Institution: Considerations Reported by Students