The rise in the number of first-year students at US universities is the largest since the pandemic, according to complete figures which also show growth in international student recruitment.
Preliminary figures – which have since been corrected following an error – previously spooked some by estimating a “substantial” 5 per cent fall in first-year recruitment for 2024.
Instead, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center revealed that 2.5 million first-year students were enrolled for the current academic year – up 5.5 per cent on 2023, and an improvement on the 0.8 per cent growth last year.
The new figures showed strong growth in community colleges, which saw first-year recruitment rise by 7 per cent. There was also a 26 per cent increase in the number of new students at private for-profit four-year institutions.
Across all types of institution, the number of 18-year-olds enrolled increased by 3.4 per cent to 1.8 million but still remains below levels seen in 2019. Meanwhile, the number of 21- to 24-year-old and 25 or older students grew by 16.7 per cent and 19.7 per cent, respectively.
Total post-secondary enrolment is up 4.5 per cent, now standing at 19.1 million. Within that, undergraduate students make up 83 per cent, and postgraduate students the remaining 17 per cent.
“It is encouraging to see the total number of post-secondary students rising above the pre-pandemic level for the first time this fall,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
“It is also promising that freshman enrolment increased this fall – the growth is driven by older first-year students, as 18-year-olds are still below their 2019 numbers.”
Just last week, Shapiro was forced to admit that a methodological error was at fault for the incorrect calculation of freshman enrolment published late last year.
In more good news for the sector, the updated report found that undergraduate international student enrolment increased by 9.3 per cent for 2024, and postgraduate by 7.4 per cent. New international student numbers increased by 7.4 per cent, compared with growth of 1.6 per cent the year before.
The Clearinghouse data also showed that first-year enrolment surged across all ethnic groups, with the largest increases among Hispanic (5.1 per cent), black (3.5 per cent) and Asian (6 per cent) students. The number of white undergraduate students increased by 0.9 per cent.
However, the organisation highlighted that the number of first-year students who chose not to report their race or ethnicity rose “dramatically” this year.
The ethnicity of almost 6 per cent of first-year students was therefore “unknown” in 2024 – up from 4 per cent the year before.
