Enrollments Are Up in Higher Education With Black Increases Outpacing Those of Whites

A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center finds that undergraduate enrollment grew by 176,000 students. or 1.2 percent, in fall 2023. This was the first increase since the pandemic.

Among the three largest sectors, growth was highest at community colleges, which gained 118,000 students, or 2.6 percent, after steep declines during the pandemic. Public and private nonprofit 4-year institutions both saw smaller increases of 0.6 percent. Over two-thirds of states saw undergraduate enrollment growth this past fall.

Hispanics and Asians showed the largest increases in enrollments. For African Americans, more than 1.6 million students were enrolled as undergraduates, up 0.7 percent from the previous year. White enrollments were down by 2 percent from fall of 2022.

At four-year public universities, both Blacks and Whites showed small declines in enrollments this past fall. At private, not-for-profit four-year institutions Black enrollments were up 1.8 percent. For Whites, enrollments were down 1.8 percent.

At community colleges, Blacks enrollments were up 2.1 compared to a 2 percent decrease for Whites. At for-profit educational institutions, Black enrollments were up 10 percent compared to a 1.7 percent increase for Whites.

In the fall of 2023, there were slightly more than 309,000 Blacks enrolled in graduate school. This was an increase of 2.6 percent. Whites saw a 1.9 percent drop in graduate school enrollments.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Graduate Enrollment Surges at Winston-Salem State University

In fall 2024, Winston-Salem State University enrolled 244 new graduate students, an increase of 31.2 percent from the prior year. The HBCU now enrolls nearly 600 graduate students.

Two Black Women College Presidents Announce Their Retirements

Gilda Barbino, president of Olin College of Engineering, and Soraya Coley, president of Cal Poly, Pomona, have announced their plans to retire at the end of this academic year. Both Dr. Barbino and Dr. Coley are the first woman presidents of their institutions.

Norfolk State University to Construct a $118 Million STEM Facility

As part of an ongoing $90 million fundraising campaign, Norfolk State University has announced plans to establish a 131,000-square-foot STEM building to advance its research capabilities and science academic programming.

Two Black Men Selected for Academic Appointments at Universities

The faculty members with new appointments are Christopher Small at Florida State University and Dwight McBride at Washington University in St. Louis.

Featured Jobs